In The News

How to Save Brazil

Luiz Felipe d’Avila April 18, 2016
Brazil, among the world’s 10 largest economies and the fifth most populous, is in political and economic turmoil. The president has been impeached and the Brazilian Senate will decide whether to proceed with a trial. Populist policies and a drop in commodity prices led to debt that is 70 percent of GDP. Political leaders must act swiftly to restore public confidence and reduce corruption...

Globalization Is Changing, Not Going Into Reverse

Minouche Shafik April 14, 2016
Globalization can't be expected to move at an even pace. Some aspects of globalization like trade growth and capital flows are slowing, explains Minouche Shafik for Financial Times, but others like communications are growing. She is a deputy governor of the Bank of England. Shafik adds that regional agreements are emerging in trade and financial areas because of mistrust of global approaches...

US Adds China’s Internet Controls to List of Trade Barriers

Paul Mozur April 8, 2016
The internet represents 6 percent of the US GDP, contributing to economic growth and jobs, more so than the construction or food-service sectors, reports a 2015 study for the Internet Association. Previous studies by McKinsey Global Institute suggest that most economic benefit, 75 percent, goes to companies in traditional industries. Such is the rationale for the Obama administration to add China...

Globalization’s Toll: Tata Steel’s Expansion Dream

Dilip Hiro April 7, 2016
Executives in the mining and steel industries miscalculated by expecting rapid growth to continue in China. China's leaders instead shifted the direction of their economy to rely less on manufacturing and more on services. Slowed growth led to a downturn in demand for commodities like iron ore and coal along with overcapacity in the steel industry. That increased China's exports,...

Down, But Certainly Not Out

Nayan Chanda April 6, 2016
The United States is gradually lifting restrictions on trade with Cuba and abandoning the lingering hostility after the end of the Cold War. Cubans, after enduring decades of a controlled economy and hardship, have pent-up demand and look forward to diverse products and business opportunities associated with trade. Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal, reports his observations during a...

Debunking America’s Populist Narrative

J. Bradford DeLong April 5, 2016
As US voters worry stagnant wages, the availability of good jobs, and the nation’s ability to compete, economist J. Bradford DeLong suggests that candidates and voters may be going after the wrong targets. “The reason that incomes have stagnated is that American politicians have failed to implement policies to manage globalization’s effects,” he writes for Project Syndicate. US candidates have...

Modi’s Middle East Outreach

Harsh V. Pant March 31, 2016
Investing and trading in the Middle East carry high risk due to difficult political transitions and ongoing conflicts. Like other major economies, India leverages economic clout for strategic purposes, especially to isolate rival Pakistan’s military and intelligence capabilities. India, soon to be the world’s most populous nation, has a minority Muslim population that’s larger than Pakistan’s....