In The News

Children of China's Future – Part II

Karen Eggleston, Jean Oi, Scott Rozelle, Ang Sun, Xueguang Zhou March 14, 2012
Inequality has many forms, most with insidious and tragic consequences for children. This two-part series examines the opportunity gap for children of wealthy urbanites in China and those of the rural poor. In the second and final article, Karen Eggleston and a team of faculty members and researchers with Stanford University focus on the plight of China’s rural poor and an 8-year-old boy. Like...

Children of China's Future – Part I

Pallavi Aiyar March 12, 2012
In societies with greater equality, rich or poor, social cohesion often remains strong with opportunities shared. But societies with greater inequality can anticipate more health problems, discontent and corruption. As a nation’s inequality widens, early warning signs are often apparent among children. This YaleGlobal series analyzes widening inequality in China and its effects on children. China...

Elites Loot Africa While Foreign Debt Mounts

James K. Boyce, Léonce Ndikumana February 27, 2012
Too often, borrowed monies are salted away from Africa’s most impoverished nations to offshore banks through inflated contracts or kickbacks. The complexities and bank-secrecy laws of the international finance system, combined with a lack of enforcement, assist such transfers, contend James K. Boyce and Léonce Ndikumana, authors of Africa’s Odious Debts: How Foreign Loans and Capital Flight Bled...

India’s Dilemma: Faster Growth or Poverty Alleviation?

T.N. Ninan February 22, 2012
Fast growth from globalization can produce uneven results, enriching some citizens and leaving others behind. Balancing poverty removal and fast growth becomes more difficult when politicians have to worry about their constituents, notes Indian journalist T.N. Ninan. He uses battles in India over food subsidies, designed to eliminate hunger, and an employment guarantee program as examples of the...

France Deals With Globalization Crisis – Part I

Pierre-Noel Giraud January 24, 2012
Multinational companies have shifted manufacturing operations and research and development from West to East, taking advantage of low wages and huge Asian markets poised for growth. On the global trade front, countries like France feel battered, and political leaders increasingly toy with protectionism. This YaleGlobal series offers ideas on how nations can optimize globalization’s benefits. In...

Global Implications of China’s Challenges – Part II

Borje Ljunggren January 18, 2012
Speculative bubbles and problematic governance in large economies can quickly spill over to disrupt other economies. This two-part YaleGlobal series analyzes global and local challenges facing China and their impact. In the second and final article, Borje Ljunggren, former Swedish ambassador to China, writes that a protest over corruption in the village of Wukan, Guangdong, shows in a microcosm...

The Year of “Two-G” Protests

Nayan Chanda December 28, 2011
India was among the few countries that withstood the global economic crisis 2008, but scandal and a political divide have paralyzed the nation’s ability to confront problems. India offers a reminder, writes Nayan Chanda for the Times of India, that, “to succeed in global engagement, a country needs more than English, IT and entrepreneurial savvy.” Countries also need good governance. Academics...