In The News

Africa’s New Trade Zone: African Business

October 2, 2019
Africa offers great potential for growth with immense resources and a young population, and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement aims to increase regional trade integration, develop regional supply chains and diversify exports: “the agreement will be fully supported with well-defined rules of origin; schedules of tariff concessions in trade in goods; an online continental non-tariff...

Global Corporate Tax System: Financial Times

José Antonio Ocampo July 12, 2019
The world’s largest economies can rescue globalization by tackling inequality and reforming the international taxation system. In 2013, the OECD improved information exchange. Still, multinationals, especially digital firms, rely on subsidiaries to minimize taxes with as much as 40 percent of profits going to tax havens. India is among the countries pressing for reform and suggesting large...

Could Civilization Collapse? BBC

Luke Kemp February 21, 2019
Internal challenges and divisions are more treacherous for civilizations than external attacks, suggests historian Arnold Toynbee who studied 28 civilizations. Overexpansion, environmental degradation and poor leadership helped ruin the Roman Empire. “Collapse is often quick and greatness provides no immunity,” explains researcher Luke Kemp. Greater size is not a protection, and Kemp describes...

Modern Diplomacy: Advanced Persistent Cyber Threats

Al Lewis January 31, 2019
Global online connectivity presents and exposes many vulnerabilities. Writing for Modern Diplomacy, Al Lewis explains that advanced persistent cyber threats share six characteristics with terrorism: “asymmetry, cost effectiveness, contributions of loose associations, will to succeed, impossibility to completely defend, and contagion.” However, those waging cyber-attacks, unlike terrorists, are...

PIIE: What is Globalization?

Melina Kolb December 26, 2018
Perhaps it is human nature as so many people take credit for their every success but blame others – trade, migration, technological advances and other facets of globalization – for their woes. The Peterson Institute for International Economics undertakes the task of reminding about the age-old processes of globalization, urging an understanding of the relative costs and benefits to avoid the...

Spiegel: If Macron Fails, Europe Fails

Henrik Enderlein December 24, 2018
Emmanuel Macron won the French presidential election without support of a traditional political party on a platform of strengthening the European Union in revolutionary ways. But the yellow-vest protests that began over a fuel tax are eroding his authority. He has led numerous reforms for the French job market, wage negotiations, taxation and the budget deficit. “Macron has already reformed his...

DW: Global Migrant Numbers Up 20 Percent

December 6, 2018
The number of migrants worldwide is growing, especially those of working age, reports the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The report details how migrants aged 15 and older make up 4.2 percent of the global population and migrant workers make up 4.7 percent of all workers. About 68 percent of migrant workers work in high-income countries, down from 75 percent in 2013. Almost 60...