In The News

The Two-Tier Internet: Fighting for Control of the Web's Future

Frank Dohmen, Martin U. Müller, Hilmar Schmundt August 27, 2010
Profit margins have shrunk for internet providers. Attracted by low prices and rapid growth, consumers rely on cloud computing, which uses central servers for storage of treasured documents – yet few understand internet technology or long-term maintenance needs. A recent release from Google and Verizon recommended regulations, calling “for governments to leave it up to the market to determine...

Joys and Pains of a Global Paradigm Shift

Michael Casey August 27, 2010
In a world with immense wage inequality, two world views emerge, explains Michael Casey for the Wall Street Journal. Attitudes are relative, depending on whether one’s circumstances are improving or declining. Global economic power is in an ongoing shift from high-wage to low-wage nations, he argues, and if indeed deflation is underway, that represents additional hardship for the high-wage...

Time to Sort Out the Long Overdue Doha Round

Hugh Corbet August 26, 2010
Expanding trade has enriched the world, and completing the Doha Round of negotiations could deliver nations – both rich and poor – from stagnation. The round of World Trade Organization negotiations began in 2001 as an effort to ease poverty by reducing trade barriers. But wealthy nations resist ending protections for their agricultural industries. “By offering to reduce agricultural subsidies...

The Burden of Thirst

Tina Rosenberg August 25, 2010
Information flows to every corner of the world much like movements of the water cycle, connecting people more than ever before. But nothing separates us more than the inequality that exists in access to water. Nearly 900 million people lack access to clean water, and more than 3.3 million – most children under age five – die each year as a result. In many developing countries, the brunt of the...

India Tries Using Cash Bonuses to Slow Birthrates

Jim Yardley August 23, 2010
India is the second most populous nation in the world, expected to overtake China in the next decade. Analysts study the two neighbor nations for how political systems and population policies contribute to growth or economic wealth: Nations with low fertility rates are generally wealthier, while younger populations are described as more productive. Fertility rates, varying throughout India, are...

The Erosion of America's Middle Class

Thomas Schulz August 20, 2010
An increasing divide between rich and poor limits US consumer spending, contributing to an economic slowdown around the globe. The world’s richest nation continues a downward spiral with foreclosures, joblessness and hunger. The current tax system, along with ongoing pleas to reduce taxes further, directly benefits the wealthiest while dismantling public services that secure the middle class –...

Anti-Global Warming Push Also Best for the Economy

Takamitsu Sawa August 17, 2010
Convincing individuals or businesses to join an orderly, gradual transition to new technologies requires incentives, explains Takamitsu Sawa for the Japan Times. Traditional automobile or appliance industries offer little promise of economic growth for developed nations like Japan and the US; consumers in developed nations already own such products, often replacing only as needed or quickly...