In The News

Is America Losing At Globalization?

Daniel Gross September 4, 2008
Countries compete, and in the modern era, economics, education and innovation matter no less than military might. With a strong education program and many life-changing inventions, the US mastered globalization throughout the 20th century. But complacency set in, respect for science and education fell, and the growth that comes from innovation has waned. Other countries have caught up and even...

Aid Is Good, Business Is Better

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Nicky Oppenheimer September 1, 2008
Africa lags behind other continents on most indicators of development, largely because the cost of doing business is too high, suggest the president of Liberia and the chairman of De Beers, writing an opinion essay together for the International Herald Tribune. Record amounts of aid flow to the continent, but countries should regard that aid as temporary and enact reforms to spur sustainable...

Nobel Laureates Say Globalization's Winners Should Aid Poor

Joellen Perry August 27, 2008
Some citizens accrue more benefits from open and free markets than other citizens, and growing income inequality has become a major issue in elections around the globe. Wealth among nations is evening out. Yet within some nations and communities, those that don’t use taxes or government programs to guarantee widespread distribution of benefits and opportunity, the lopsided effects of trade and...

The India-China Paradigm Is Passé

Kanika Datta August 25, 2008
The days of business nationalism are long over, including for those based in China and India, suggests Kanika Datta, writing for the Business Standard. Chinese and India businesses seek mergers and acquisitions with foreign firms to expand and deliver products and services quickly, cost-effectively and efficiently to both domestic and new markets. At times, firms venture into new territory to...

Emerging Markets Must Shift Their Focus Inwards

Raghuram Rajan August 22, 2008
Emerging markets can prepare for a slowdown in the US by allowing their currencies to appreciate in value and developing new products for their own consumers, advises Raghuram Rajan, finance professor with the University of Chicago and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. The transition – as developing nations shift from making products for Americans and Europeans to...

Shooting Ourselves in the Food

Ernesto Zedillo August 19, 2008
Food prices have risen sharply in recent months, contributing to poverty, protests and general insecurity. Blaming free markets for the crisis, though, is a mistake, contends Ernesto Zedillo director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, in his column for Forbes Magazine. Droughts and increased demand by growing Asian nations alone did not contribute to climbing prices. “To get the...

Shock Absorber: US Retools Economy, Curbing Thirst for Oil

Justin Lahart August 18, 2008
As demand for oil surged and the world contended fleetingly with record-high prices, the US quickly adjusted: Companies develop new strategies to lower energy costs, and consumers turn to energy-efficient products. As the world’s largest user of energy products, the US can drive prices. “Whether this newfound energy austerity alters the fabric of American life in a lasting way will depend partly...