In The News

Is Globalization Sowing the Seeds of Its Own Undoing?

Jay Ogilvy October 14, 2016
Globalization’s fast pace is destabilizing, and the economic market is becoming more influential than the nation-state, writers have argued. Inequality is entrenched with economic and cultural divisions in education, income and employment. “Those ‘who can take advantage of the global economy’ are clearly benefiting from globalization and tend to cluster in the same clubs, colleges and communities...

World Bank Admits Some Have Lost Out From Free Trade

Kamal Ahmed October 12, 2016
The benefits of globalization and trade are not spread evenly, suggests a World Bank internal document reported on by BBC News. “Jim Kim, the head of the World Bank, told the BBC that he understood why people were angry in advanced economies despite the fact that free trade was one of the ‘most powerful’ drivers of growth and prosperity,” reports Kamal Ahmed for BBC. “Kim said that 20% of jobs...

Hawaiian Seafood Caught by Foreign Crews Who Are Confined on Boats

Martha Mendoza and Margie Mason September 16, 2016
Some fishing fleets along the US West Coast rely on foreign crews confined onboard for months at a time even when the vessels are in port. Federal laws allow the immigrant labor with low wages and no labor protections for what is ranked among the most dangerous jobs in the world. “With no legal standing on U.S. soil, the men are at the mercy of their American captains on American-flagged,...

Rise of Right-Wing Populism: A Manifesto for the Moderate Left

Pranab Bardhan September 15, 2016
Populists take advantage of the real pain of inequality and the economic disruptions of new technology and globalization. Sympathetic and angry, they promise quick fixes and resist compromise. Such “demagogues thrive when the institutions of democracy are hollowed out,” argues economist Pranab Bardhan, and he offers recommendations for citizens whose politics lean left of center. Trade unions...

Africa’s Economic Potential Hit Hard by Gender Inequality

Amy Copley September 12, 2016
A recent United Nations Development Project report shows how increased gender equality in Africa would create economic benefits for the region as a whole – for both men and women. Gender disparities in educational and economic opportunities and health care are persistent. The report suggests that reduced GDP represents billions of dollars of loss, with $104.75 billion in 2014 alone, as a result...

A Brief History of (In)equality

J. Bradford DeLong July 28, 2016
Rising inequality is a complex challenge that lacks simple solutions. “This complexity implies that any adjustments to our political economy should be based on sound social science and directed by elected leaders who are genuinely acting in the interest of the people,” argues economist J. Bradford DeLong. He summarizes processes throughout history that distributed economic gains in disparate ways...

Global Elites Must Heed the Warning of Populist Rage

Martin Wolf July 21, 2016
Dissatisfaction runs high in many of the world’s most advanced economies – and many voters are turning to leaders who encourage nationalism, protectionism and other extreme policies, explains Martin Wolf in the Financial Times. He points to studies showing “Stagnant incomes bother people more than rising inequality.” Economic recessions, aging populations, rising inequality, immigration and...