In The News

Alice Evans November 24, 2016
In the face of rampant labor exploitation in the clothing industry, many unions in countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, and Bangladesh are trying to increase the minimum wage and improve working conditions. In the mutual pursuit of financial gain by countries and corporations, the “mobility of capital (and immobility of labour) creates a global race to the bottom,” notes Alice Evans for the...
Richard Weitz November 24, 2016
Globalization and global institutions are in crisis, confronting varying levels of mistrust around the world. The Valdai Discussion Club, a group of Russian and foreign international affairs experts, assessed the global order. “Russians described Western-led neoliberal globalization as universally destructive economically, culturally, and politically and responsible for sparking a worldwide...
Barry Eichengreen November 23, 2016
World trade was slowing and protectionist tendencies were apparent years before the British vote to leave the European Union and Donald Trump’s winning the US presidential election. “It means that the benefits of openness and specialization are being squandered,” suggests Barry Eichengreen, a professor of economics, for Project Syndicate. “So far, slower trade growth has been the result of slower...
Anthony Rowley November 22, 2016
The Obama administration has suspended efforts to win approval from the US Congress for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, reports suggest, and it’s up to the Trump administration to kill or shape the 12-nation deal. With TPP on life support, China promotes two other trade agreements for the region, either of which could exclude the United States and reduce its competitiveness in the Asia Pacific...
Pierpaolo Barbieri November 22, 2016
Brexit and Donald Trump’s presidency both rode to success on a wave of nationalistic fervor, based on the view that globalization on balance harms the UK and the US. Yet the histories of those countries demonstrate that economic protectionism can lead to political instability and worse, total war. In the 1930s, devaluation of British and American currencies, in the aim of making their own goods...
Chris Matthews November 18, 2016
Globalization infiltrates every part of business and life, and most citizens may not even notice some of the trends in which they participate. US President Barack Obama noted while in Germany while adding that governments could do more to explain the complexities and ease hardships. “Make America Great Again” and “America First” of the Trump campaign were easy slogans that appealed to voters,...
Juan José Mateo Ruiz Gàlvez and Francesco Manetto November 16, 2016
Economic and security interests clash, and so do foreign policy and domestic priorities. Some Spanish political leaders are criticizing a potential multibillion dollar contract for Spain to build warships for Saudi Arabia. King Felipe’s visit in support of the deal was delayed once due to political gridlock, and members of the left-leaning party Podemos vehemently oppose rescheduling the visit or...