In The News

World Trade Uncertainty Index: IMFBlog

Hites Ahir, Nicholas Broom and Davide Furceri September 17, 2019
Uncertainty deters investment and slows economic growth, and the International Monetary Fund has introduced an index that attempts to measure trade uncertainty for 143 advanced and developing nations. The index relies on a search for words related to uncertainty and trade in the Economist Intelligence Unit country reports. “Globally, the trade policy uncertainty index is rising sharply, having...

Change for Aquaculture Industry: Vancouver Courier

Nelson Bennett September 17, 2019
With the catch of wild fish in decline, consumers turn to farmed seafood. “Aquaculture is already a $244-billion industry … and is the fastest-growing sector in the global food industry,” notes a new Nature Conservancy and Encourage Capital report, as reported by Nelson Bennett for the Vancouver Courier. The planet has limited food-production capabilities, and a growing population cannot rely on...

Arcane Agriculture Models: Manila Times

Ben Kritz September 7, 2019
Agriculture’s tremendous success in producing more food than the world needs with fewer resources is also reducing prices. Even as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization suggests that 30 percent of the world's food goes wasted, the agriculture industry represents an increasingly smaller share of economic growth and jobs for both advanced and emerging economies. The industry carries great...

A Different Economy: Sydney Morning Herald

Ross Gittins September 2, 2019
Advanced economies no longer work the way they once did, and no one should expect a return to "normal" anytime soon. Economists disagree about the reasons. For now, governments and citizens must adjust to a new normal, explains Ross Gittins for the Sydney Morning Herald. Some Australian leaders prepare to adjust for declines in economic growth, productivity and interest rates. Australia...

Microloan Problems in Cambodia: Spiegel

Vanessa Steinmetz August 19, 2019
Even small amounts of debt can contribute to lasting trouble for those living in developing nations. Vanessa Steinmetz describes the plight of a cassava farmer and father of five in Cambodia who struggles to repay a bank microloan of $3250 just before the prices of that commodity fell. He had placed a hectare of his farm as collateral, before selling other land at a loss and taking out another...

Crumbling Global Order: Wall Street Journal

Greg Ip August 14, 2019
Major shifts in world systems can result in global downturns, argues Greg Ip for the Wall Street Journal. This was the case for the end of the era of cheap oil but not the advent of the internet. Increasing resistance to globalization and open markets fueled by nationalism and populism – and a general decline in diplomacy with Brexit, the US-China and South Korea-Japan trade wars, divisions in...

Hong Kong Remains Important to China: Economist

August 12, 2019
Protests have paralyzed Hong Kong throughout the summer, putting China’s system of governance for the island into question. While the protesters’ numbers have fallen, the movement has expanded its demands and methods, including disruptions that have forced the Hong Kong airport to close. The protests may have dashed China’s vision for Hong Kong as an “‘economic’ city in which politics plays a...