In The News

The New Dot-Economy

Alan Sipress December 11, 2006
Half a decade after the dot-com bubble burst, the US is experiencing another boom in internet business. Economic and technological innovation has sent costs into free-fall, encouraging small start-ups to enter high-tech markets considered too expensive until recently. Advances in computer chips, high-speed internet access and open-source software have reduced operating costs dramatically: Web...

“Fair Trade” Foolishness

Robert Samuelson December 8, 2006
US politicians may oppose new trade agreements with nations like Peru and Colombia, but other nations will fill the void. The US could punish its own exporters by rejecting such trade agreements. The basis for such rejection is not so much traditional protectionism, suggests columnist Robert Samuelson, but rather an obstructionism and alarm at the notion of any trade at all. US citizens worry...

Capitalism: One Size Does Not Suit All

Pranab Bardhan December 7, 2006
Uncertainty abounds over the Anglo-American economic model that has held sway ever since Adam Smith. Excessive debt, growing inequality, increasing costs for health care and retirement as well as large prison populations in the US and UK have raised doubts about its viability. Many nations have sought to adapt capitalism for their specific cultures and needs. Scandinavian and Japanese models...

Kentucky Fried Globalization

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom December 5, 2006
US media have been fascinated by both China’s and Vietnam’s success in embracing global markets while retaining communist governments. But that fascination resulted in a limited, oft-repeated presentation that does not delve into the cultural complexities, according to history professor Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom. Journalists tend to make two mistakes, according to Wasserstrom: first, equating...

Globalization Anxiety

Lawrence H. Summers December 1, 2006
Despite all evidence that points to a robust world economy, many world citizens are anxious and distrustful of global integration and markets, reports economist Lawrence Summers in “The Los Angeles Times.” Conflict throughout the Middle East, combined with the inability of world powers to handle violent conflict or nuclear threats, contributes to the unease. But a major factor is that the middle...

Speed Bump at the Border

Thomas B. Edsall November 29, 2006
With Democrats victorious in the November mid-term elections, a disgruntled middle class expects some immediate protections on jobs, wages as well as health and retirement benefits. But the Democratic Party is divided about how to deliver economic benefits to workers: One camp embraces the economic benefits of globalization, and another group tends toward protectionism and controls on trade,...

Personal Misery in the Pursuit of Happiness

Stephen King November 28, 2006
Economic growth used to produce widespread wealth – and a combination of low inflation and unemployment once reflected a content and productive society. A widening income gap between rich and poor, in countries as diverse as the US and China, however, is producing large groups of disgruntled or worried workers. National statistics no longer necessarily reflect the mood of such citizens. Even as...