In The News

The Local France: Savage Violence in Paris

John Lichfield December 3, 2018
More than 10,000 yellow-vested protesters in Paris expressed fury toward their government over increasing inequality, unemployment and poor services in rural areas with wealth going unshared. “The Arc de Triomphe, symbol of French Republican pride, was vandalised and tagged with insulting graffiti,” explains John Lichfield, adding that police acted with restraint as protesters set buildings and...

Lawfare: Fear, Loathing in the Global Middle Class

Raj M. Desai October 31, 2018
The global economy has reduced poverty and increased the ranks of the middle class. For the first time in recorded history, people who earn enough for a comfortable life outnumber the poor. “But without a functioning system of social protection on which middle class individuals can rely, the growth in their numbers also carries significant risks of democratic retreat, conflict, and instability,”...

Visual Capitalist: 8 Forces Shaping the Global Economy

Jeff Desjardins October 23, 2018
Globalization, while less popular in some countries, still contributes to rapid change throughout the world. Global networks allow for immediate spread of new ideas, and Jeff Desjardins of Visual Capitalist identifies eight forces of global change with striking information graphics: Technology, data analysis and artificial intelligence contribute to efficiency; tech companies now represent the...

Bloomberg: Global Economy Feels Lehman Fallout 10 Years Later

Simon Kennedy and Sam Dodge September 17, 2018
Investments in subprime mortgages and the collapse of Lehman Brothers contributed to the 2008 financial crisis with global economic and political fallout due to stalled growth and increased government intervention. The consequences linger today worldwide with increased debt, wage stagnation, widening inequality and lingering unemployment in some nations. “The deepest international recession since...

Stratfor: War on Drugs – A Conflict as Old as Humanity

Ian Morris August 17, 2018
Drug addiction as a security issue threatens workplaces, communities and individual health. Archeologists have found evidence of societies throughout history embracing and battling certain drugs, explains Ian Morris. Ancient Peruvians used cacti for mescaline and Ice Age cave painters may have used hallucinogens. “When Greek traders started showing up in the West Mediterranean, only one thing...

3 Quarks Daily: Populism in Less Developed Countries

Pranab Bardhan August 13, 2018
Populism comes in many forms. For economists, populism represents the allure of short-term fixes that cause long-term damage; in political science, the term represents strong leaders wiling to dispense with the rule of law or minority rights. Populism of developing countries has its own traits, attracting educated, middle class and urban citizens as opposed to the uneducated, rural and working-...

Foreign Affairs: The Failures of Capitalism

Robin Varghese July 26, 2018
Wages for the poorer half of the population in Europe and the United States have had sluggish growth over the last 50 years, while corporate profits have soared. Karl Marx, philosopher and economist, had predicted that the nature of capitalism would lead to inequality, unemployment, stagnant wages and oligopolistic firms. While communist revolutions did occur in countries like Russia and China,...