In The News

South Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Temptation

Lee Byong-Chul October 14, 2011
The warm welcome accorded to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Washington this week reaffirmed the close alliance. Since the end of the Korean War in 1953, South Korea has relied on the US to deter threats from North Korea. But with the US in economic decline and China as a rising power in Northeast Asia, South Koreans, particularly conservatives, increasingly question the endurance of that...

Biggest US Free-Trade Accord Since ’94 Passed

Eric Martin and William McQuillen October 13, 2011
In an unusual display of agreement, the 112th US Congress approved free-trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama. The South Korea deal alone will remove duties on almost two-thirds of US farm exports and phase out tariffs on virtually all industrial and consumer exports within five years, reports Bloomberg. The US is striving to double US exports by 2015, and trade momentum could...

America’s Labor Pains

Nayan Chanda October 10, 2011
Americans are frustrated by their inability to find jobs and the widening inequality that brings. Proposals from government and corporations so far rely on unworkable notions that failed in the past, including protectionist measures or subsidies that reinforce aging industries that are no longer competitive. The world economy has undergone structural transformation, explains Nayan Chanda in his...

A World Without Borders Makes Economic Sense

Michael A. Clemens September 16, 2011
Many of the world’s economies are still suffering due to the global economic crisis, and policymakers search for an elusive magic bullet. Michael A Clemens, writing for the Guardian, offers one possibility: increasing international migration. He describes the manmade barriers to economic mobility as the “single-biggest drag on the beleaguered economy,” and claims that even minor relaxation of...

Portugal’s Jobless Graduates Flee to Africa and Brazil

Lucy Ash September 13, 2011
Despite troubled histories, colonial powers and their former colonies have maintained close relations, largely due to shared languages. This often resulted in what’s been called “brain drain,” the large-scale immigration of professionals from the former colonies to the former colonial powers in search of economic opportunity. Lucy Ash of BBC News describes a reversal in the traditional migration...

Unemployment, Inc.: Six Reasons Why America Can't Create Jobs

Mark Trumbull September 12, 2011
High unemployment in the US and a sharp reduction in consumer spending depress economies around the globe. Economists warn that the US economy could be experiencing a structural shift, explains Mark Trumbull for the Christian Science Monitor. He lists six reasons for the long period of high unemployment: companies pushing for higher productivity among workers, while hiring workers on a temporary...

The Challenging Billions

David Bloom August 26, 2011
It took the world centuries to reach 1 billion people in 1800, and 6 billion more have been added since. Technological changes that provided jobs for billions and supported families are not so fast paced, notes David Bloom, a Harvard professor, in an essay for Project Syndicate: “A failure to absorb large numbers of people into productive employment could lead to mass suffering and myriad...