In The News

US Privacy Campaigners Fear Mark of the Beast

James Sturcke May 12, 2006
If a diner in the US falls ill in the near future, the government plans to turn to a computer database to learn the source of any last bite of meat. Privacy advocates complain that the ambitious tagging program is expensive and excessive, and could potentially be used on humans. The US Department of Agriculture insists that the proposal is “technology neutral,” but critics anticipate heavy...

Globalization’s Grave Challenges for the West

Robert A. Levine May 12, 2006
Globalization will proceed despite protectionism, and the West would be wise to devise policies that incorporate globalization’s inevitability. Without such policies, the standard of living in both the US and Europe could diminish: In Europe, slow growth will leave the continent trailing the US and Asia, making it ultimately dependent on tourism. The US may abandon its own guiding principles of...

Cheney Has Turkey in His Sights

David Gow May 11, 2006
When US Vice President Dick Cheney denounced Russia’s geopolitical use of its oil and gas reserves, he shed light on an unheralded strategy to turn Turkey into a key supplier of energy. A bridge between Europe and Asia for decades, Turkey is ambitious to expand its international role in the 21st century. In an effort to become the first full EU member with a predominantly Islamic population,...

Beyond Macro Reforms

Luis Alberto Moreno May 11, 2006
Economies throughout Latin America and the Caribbean are flourishing, enjoying steady growth rates along with inflation and fiscal deficits under control. Still, Latin American countries have low incomes and a low share of world trade, struggling to compete with Asian competitors in India, China, Japan and Korea. Luis Alberto Moreno, banking executive and former economic official for Colombia,...

Africa’s Bitter Harvest

G. Pascal Zachary May 10, 2006
For years, Souley Madi has had many advantages as a cotton farmer in Badjengo Cameroon. He requires no complex, costly machinery to plant his fields. He has a beneficial arrangement with a state-owned company that collects his harvest on time for a satisfactory rate. With these earnings, he sends his five children in school, which he believes is the key to their future. Yet Madi wonders how...

Cuba Plans Offshore Wells Banned in US Waters

Michael Janofsky May 10, 2006
The US and Cuba partitioned the waters of Florida Straits years ago, and the US never expected that Cuba would hurry to develop the underlying oil and gas fields. Cuba might not have immediate need for the energy supplies, but other nations do. So the Cuban government negotiated a partnership with emerging economic giants China and India to drill and extract oil and gas from the large underwater...

Can the Doha Round Be Salvaged?

Ernesto Zedillo May 9, 2006
The Doha Round began in 2001 as an attempt to eliminate trade barriers and encourage global commerce among developing nations. But countries submitted lengthy wish lists to the negotiators. With collective agreement required among 149 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO), it’s no surprise that the round has stalled. The Doha Round struggles from an inherent contradiction –...