In The News

For over a decade, Turkey has tried to force the issue of its accession into the European Union (EU) onto the agenda of the European Commission. With the recent release of two draft progress reports, serious discussions seem imminent. While the reports laud the country's social and political reforms, Turkey still fails to meet certain entry requirements. At issue are the country's...

Despite strong international sanctions against the illegal trade, ivory products still flourish in Thailand, where ivory carving is a traditional art. Thailand finds itself at the epicenter of an international black market, ushering in large shipments of African ivory each year. Materials are smuggled through a complicated trail that sometimes passes through ports as far flung as Saudi Arabia and...

Bad regulations rarely make headlines, but a new study by the World Bank, "Doing Business in 2005," shows that excessive red tape is one of the chief obstacles to growth in almost all poor countries. Pointless regulations often foster corruption, as firms and individuals have a greater incentive to bribe officials not to enforce them. Entrepreneurs suffer the most, not only from...