In The News

Global Risk of US Credit Crisis – Part I

David Dapice September 21, 2007
Uncertainty swirling in the US financial markets and the Federal Reserve's rate cut leave world players, along with US homeowners and investors, in a quandary. In the first part of this series, economist David Dapice analyzes the global implications as the uncertainty and lack of confidence associated with the credit crunch spread beyond US borders, hurting banks in Europe and investors in...

Managing Globalization

Daniel Altman September 21, 2007
The global impact of the US subprime mortgage crisis prompts some commentators to question if globalization is a stabilizing or destabilizing force on world markets. Increased interconnectedness has certainly improved the flow of money and credit, contributing to the creation of great wealth, but also magnifies the effects when investors overuse a risky tool, like bundles of high-risk, high-...

Fading Superpower?

David Rieff September 19, 2007
A favorite topic for many Washington politicos is how long will the United States hang on to its role as world's sole superpower. Most suspect the US will stand alone as top power well into the future, because other countries have not hurried to develop similar power or assume global responsibility and also because most world leaders appreciate how the US provides economic stability and...

No Thanks, And Keep Your Farm Aid

Joel Stein September 18, 2007
The international humanitarian organization, CARE, rejected $45 million in aid from the US government, suggesting that dumping huge amounts of wheat and other US-grown crops into developing markets only drives local farmers out of business and aggravates poverty. According to Joel Stein, Los Angeles Times columnist, the US insists on a distribution system that “only a huge bureaucracy or a really...

An Opportunity for Wall St. in China’s Surveillance Boom

Keith Bradsher September 17, 2007
Like other industries, surveillance is booming in China and attracting overseas investors. Hedge funds in the US profit by investing in firms that develop and apply high-tech internet censorship, face- and behavior-recognition software, and video feeds. Some Chinese firms, like China Security and Surveillance Technology and China Public Security Technology, incorporate in the US to attract...

Globalization Was Good Then, Not Now

Mark Thirlwell September 17, 2007
Even as economists fret about sustaining global economic integration and politicians in the wealthiest nations make opposition to globalization a winning campaign theme, the phenomenon continues to connect the world. Such a dichotomy may not continue for long, warns economist Mark Thirlwell. Growing alarm in the developed nations stems from the emergence of powerful competitors in the developing...

A Bumper Crop of Inertia

Robert J. Samuelson September 14, 2007
US farmers of wheat, corn, soybeans, cotton and rice are hooked on government subsidies that began in the 1930s during the Great Depression. Since then, the subsidies have continued, year after year, while political or agriculture industry leaders refuse to admit that changing needs demand new priorities. Rather than saving family farms, creating jobs, encouraging good nutrition habits or...