In The News

China's Revolutionary Myth

Gwynne Dyer September 5, 2006
Communism offered little in contributing to China’s status as a rising economic power. Chinese communists won the civil war in 1949, after which leaders experimented with a series of disastrous social policies, including the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward. Under Deng Xiao-ping in the 1980s, China tried its hand at some capitalism ventures, gradually intermingling with foreign...

US Seeks Bigger China Role in IMF

Steven R. Weisman September 4, 2006
The old saying claims, If you can’t beat them, then join them. In a bid for cooperation, the Bush administration pushes for China and other developing nations to have more power in the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The institution with 184 member countries promotes financial and monetary stability, international trade and poverty reduction. Europe, which could lose voting shares, resists the...

Fruit of the Boom Threatens to Push China's Economy Out of Control

Jonathan Watts August 31, 2006
China has had spectacular growth, so spectacular that consumers cannot keep up. Luxury apartments in Shanghai remain vacant. Overbuilding and overvaluation, combined with increased debt, have contributed to an overheated economy. Not accountable to voters, provincial governments compete to create building booms and demonstrate accomplishments. Supply exceeds demand for about 70 percent of China’s...

As Foreign Investment Rises, India Addresses Security Concerns

Saritha Rai August 30, 2006
India appreciates foreign investment, but it also wants to build safeguard to its flourishing telecommunications, media, airline, pharmaceutical and other sensitive industries. A Foreign Investment Promotion Board will review investments, pointing out any that could represent possible threats. With overseas direct investment expected to reach $10 billion this year, the legislation could impact...

Why Globalization Is in Trouble – Part I

Branko Milanovic August 29, 2006
The dominant world powers historically pushed for globalization as a means of increasing wealth and influence. Yet those nations fret as the emerging powers of India and China embrace the same strategy. This two-part series by World Bank economist Branco Milanovic explores why both the world’s wealthiest and poorest nations fear globalization. In the first article, Milanovic argues that citizens...

China Puts Price on Head of Rare Animals

Jonathan Watts August 24, 2006
The economic law of supply and demand makes no exception for endangered species: Price goes up as the population declines. The Chinese government is selling permits to foreign tourists, giving them the right to hunt yak, wolves and argali in five of the nation’s poorest provinces. Chinese are not eligible for the permits. The government suggests that the expensive hunts will aid conservation...

More Than Wal-Mart

Robert Kuttner August 23, 2006
Wal-Mart is a symbol of the struggling worker who faces little hope of advancement, both in the US and abroad. The world’s largest retailer offers low prices by paying millions of workers minimum wage and passing many health-care costs onto government programs for the poor. The US government supports the work ethic. Since 1970, the US government decreased employer regulation, eliminated pension...