In The News

Micro-credit Pioneer Gets Nobel for Peace

Amelia Gentleman October 13, 2006
The Grameen Bank of Bangladesh and Muhammad Yunus, its founder, have won the latest Nobel Peace Prize in recognition for their work using microcredit loans to lift millions of women out of poverty. In the past, banks in the developing world rarely lent to the poor, trapping farmers in a cycle of poverty and depriving economies of small businesses. Yunus realized that even poor borrowers could...

Global Sludge Ends in Tragedy for Ivory Coast

Lydia Polgreen October 10, 2006
When a tanker leased by Trafigura, a multinational oil and metal trading company, docked in Amsterdam and hired the Amsterdam Port Services (APS) to process the waste it was carrying, the toxic sludge was found to be hazardous. Refusing to pay the high price asked by the APS to dispose of the material, the tanker took the waste back on board. Several weeks later, the tanker arrived at Abidjan,...

Coal Makes a Comeback

Sebastian Ramspeck October 9, 2006
Not so long ago, Western industrialists and politicians dismissed coal as a viable fuel, rejecting its tendency to pollute cities and cause serious respiratory problems. The world has no shortage of coal and so its prices are stable, but burning it releases far more carbon into the atmosphere than using either oil or natural gas, thus accelerating the pace of global warming. Even so, the West is...

How to Fix the Global Economy

Joseph E. Stiglitz October 4, 2006
The world has many imbalances, including ballooning debt held by the US and China’s growing trade surplus. World leaders recognize the problems – but tend to place blame on policies from other countries. Economist Joseph Stiglitz suggests that the problems are interconnected in many ways, systemic in nature, and therefore require a global effort. He urges every country to examine its own...

The New Titans

October 4, 2006
Emerging economies drive global economic growth and thus influence global economic factors including average wages, inflation as well as population growth and migration. For example, emerging economies account for most of the growth in energy consumption and hold almost three quarters of foreign-exchange reserves. With China, India and former Soviet Union nations joining the world economy, the...

Globalization Hits Road Bumps in India

Pranab Bardhan October 3, 2006
The economic integration of a country requires that it open to foreign investment, adhere to flexible labor laws and practice careful fiscal policies. In a country with severe poverty and economic inequality, however, such reforms do not win many votes for politicians. Well aware of this fact, India’s politicians play to what economist Pranab Bardhan calls “anti-reform populism.” Many voters...

Is Russia Ready for a Shipping Boom?

Sarah J. Wachter October 2, 2006
The trans-Siberian pipeline is Russia’s largest infrastructure investment at $17 billion. When completed, it will stretch from Lake Baikal to the Sea of Japan, more than 4,000 kilometers and allow Russia to ship oil to China, Japan and even the US. Yet the pipeline has become the focus of debate for Russia, neighboring countries, international oil companies and conservationists who worry that...