In The News

Stop the World (and Avoid Reality)

Alan S. Blinder January 14, 2008
The US was long the most open and competitive economy in the world. But candidates for US president, both Democrats and Republicans, respond to voters’ desire for a time out from international engagement, a mood labeled “Stop the World Syndrome,” by economist Alan Blinder in an opinion essay for the New York Times. The attitude stems from frustration over the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as...

In Singapore, A Local Switzerland for Asia's Wealthy

Wayne Arnold January 11, 2008
Singapore’s authoritarian order and highly regulated environment attracts foreign investors who value banking secrecy. Coupling a pro-business stance with amenities that appeal to the wealthy, Singapore has become a haven for private banking. While suppression of free speech and artistic expression is bothersome, Wayne Arnold reports for the International Herald Tribune that internal security...

The Globalization Backlash: Is America Slouching Towards Protectionism?

Gabor Steingart January 11, 2008
During their lifetimes, American adults have watched manufacturing jobs move from northern states to the south and then overseas, as auto, textile and now computer manufacturers chase after workers willing to work for low wages. Toshiba shifted a plant from Tennessee to Mexico, where workers assemble computers with parts from China for $8 per day. “Americans wouldn't have such a hard time...

Can the Midwest Regain Its Economic Clout?

Richard C. Longworth January 9, 2008
Achieving economic stability requires a strategy that does not neglect global markets or trends. In the US, the Midwest region has been devastated by companies shifting manufacturing operations first to southern states, paralyzing debt among farmers, followed by globalization with its shift of factories and jobs to low-wage countries. “Of course, an economic revolution as disruptive as...

The Ink Fades on a Profession as India Modernizes

Anand Giridharadas January 7, 2008
As the conduit connecting service providers and consumers grows transparent, middlemen lose jobs. Illiteracy once guaranteed business for letter writers, but a growing economy that provides the resources for education, and affordable cell phone services has left letter writers jobless. This development appears to harm middlemen, but the jobs that technological advances generate more than...

It’s Too Late for Later

Thomas L. Friedman December 18, 2007
People worldwide, even those in the least developed nations, are fully aware of the causes and dangers associated with global warming. “‘Later’ was a luxury for previous generations and civilizations,” writes New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. The planet’s transforming before our eyes – polar ice melting at faster rates, tides moving higher along coastlines and the population of some...

Don’t Bet Against the Dollar

Thomas Palley December 18, 2007
The global economy depends on the US dollar, and talk about its demise is premature. The US does confront real problems of persistent trade deficits and a high debt load, writes Thomas Palley for Foreign Policy, with increased borrowing merely creating jobs offshore. Two thirds of reserves held by world’s central banks are in dollars, and decline in the dollar’s value would hurt many around the...