In The News

The New Geo-Economics

Joseph E. Stiglitz January 11, 2016
Global economic growth, offering connections and solutions that have enriched many and lifted more out of poverty, has slowed in recent months. Economist Joseph Stiglitz compares the processes in negotiating two agreements – the global climate agreement approved in Paris and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, yet to be ratified, a trade agreement among 12 nations including the United States, but not...

Microloans Don’t Solve Poverty

Ben Casselman December 31, 2015
Microloans for as low as $25 have long been praised for triggering innovative entrepreneurship and reducing poverty – by allowing the purchase of a few chickens or a cell phone. Ben Casselman takes a more critical look at microloans for FiveThirtyEight, writing, “A series of six independently conducted randomized controlled trials found that a variety of microlending programs had little to no...

Is Australia Fully Aware of China's ChAFTA Aspirations?

Geoff Wade December 29, 2015
China and Australia have developed a free trade agreement, one of many as China forges new economic alliances through programs and investments like the Silk Maritime Route and the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank. “The ‘Chinese Dream’ that modern China is pursuing under Xi Jinping involves the reassertion of the economic and political primacy which China claims to have enjoyed among neighbours...

Trade Talks Lead to “Death of Doha and Birth of New WTO”

Shawn Donnan December 21, 2015
Members of the World Trade Organization committed to a global ban on agriculture export subsidies, with some exceptions. The WTO also signaled a move toward incremental changes as member states did not reach consensus on reaffirming the Doha round – a broad attempt underway since 2001 to reduce trade barriers and poverty for the world’s poorest nations. Shawn Donnan, writing for Financial Times...

Islamic State Oil Is Going to Assad, Some to Turkey, US Official Says

Guy Faulconbridge and Jonathan Saul December 14, 2015
Among the many rebel groups determined to overthrow the Assad regime since Syria’s civil war began in 2011 is the Islamic State. The terrorist group quickly targeted oil fields in northern Syria and Iraq to fund its campaign. A US treasury official, speaking at a Chatham House forum in the United Kingdom, suggests that Islamic State extremists have made more than $500 million selling oil. The...

Call for US Ban on Muslims and Business Deals: IBT

Sarah Berger and David Sirota December 9, 2015
Bans of any sort are not good for business, perhaps especially so when a leading Republican presidential candidate calls for a blanket travel ban for Muslims seeking to enter the United States. One out of seven people in the world are Muslim, and simply uttering the broad and unworkable proposal could disrupt investment plans for Donald Trump’s business. “His company's on-the-ground dealings...

The Globalization of America’s Colleges

Laura McKenna November 27, 2015
The number of international students attending US colleges approached 1 million for the 2014-15 academic year. Such students represent 5 percent of the college population. Top states are California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Colleges with more than 11 percent international students include New York University, University of Southern California, Columbia University, Arizona...