In The News

Roberta Cohen January 11, 2007
Thousands of Iraqis, many moderates and professionals, flee the violence of their nation each month, leaving the armed militias and the poor behind, battling for territory that lacks energy, water and other essential supplies. Before the invasion, the Bush administration had assumed that Iraqis would welcome the removal of a dictator and pursue orderly government. But almost four years later, the...
Daniel Altman January 10, 2007
Analysts may argue that globalization has passed its peak, while encouraging terror, crime and disease. But such analysis ignores the data, argues Daniel Altman who writes a globalization column for “The International Herald Tribune.” Exports of merchandise and trade in commercial services increased by 60 percent, value of global mergers and acquisitions increased by almost 40 percent, and...
Jagdish Bhagwati January 10, 2007
Confronting wage stagnation, US labor groups blame trade and immigration from developing countries. But economic research does not support the assertion that competition with developing nations reduces either wages or bargaining power, argues Columbia University professor Jagdish Bhagwali of Columbia University. If anything, ongoing technological innovations reduce the need for unskilled labor,...
Fred Weir January 9, 2007
After Russia increased the price for oil flowing into Belarus, the former Soviet republic responded by imposing a tax on Russian oil shipped through a pipeline passing between its borders, destined for Europe. When Russia refused to pay the tax, Belarus siphoned off some oil for some compensation. Russia has since closed the pipeline, and nations like Germany and Poland face reduced oil supplies...
Bruce Stokes January 9, 2007
Trade has not been a priority for the Bush administration, and negotiations have stalled over a free-trade agreement between the US and South Korea. Meanwhile, South Korea has lots of leverage and plenty of alternative markets, including China. The inability of the US to reach such a major trade agreement signals that Europe could set standards in global trade. For example, trade agreements that...
Jonathan Stevenson January 9, 2007
Somalia’s government re-took control of the capital from Islamist Courts Council. If the internationally recognized government, with the help from its US and Ethiopian supporters, does not quickly restore stability, “the conflict could become a regional war and a new field of jihad,” warns US Naval War College professor Jonathan Stevenson in an essay for “The New York Times.” The US has since...
Peter Fisher January 8, 2007
Extreme weather patterns, hitting all parts of the globe, up-ends the untested proposition that the world has at least a decade to control or adapt to climate change. Scientists and corporate interests could both be wrong about global warming, and the phenomenon could hit much sooner, much harder, than anyone has yet predicted. Environmental analyst Peter Fisher reviews the growing body of...