In The News

Daniel Gross April 6, 2006
US and European companies continue to accumulate wealth, yet neither the overall economies nor the labor forces have joined the ride. Traditional theory once suggested that climbing corporate profits promote investment, create jobs and increase consumer demand, eventually driving up wages as well. With global markets, companies enjoy far-reaching success, maintaining control over distribution...
March 31, 2006
World headlines celebrate India as a globalization success story, but the nation’s rapid growth could invite more headaches than benefits. The problem with India’s growth is its narrow focus, reports economist Priya Basu. A large part of the country’s GDP centers on information technology and software, while manufacturing and agriculture lag. Inadequate infrastructure also poses a challenge, with...
Ernest C. Hollings March 30, 2006
Ernest Hollings, former senator of South Carolina, relies on early American history to compare the government and corporate approaches to trade. The second bill to pass through US Congress, in 1789, was a 50 percent tariff on all trade, which according to Hollings, allowed the US to develop its manufacturing and reduce dependence on Europe. Other presidents managed trade to nurture specific...
William Pfaff March 30, 2006
Mass demonstrations in France over a relatively minor change in employment policy reflect a deeper and unrealized anxiety about changes occurring over several generations in the international model of capitalism. A recent international opinion poll reports that 74% of Chinese believe the free-enterprise, free-market system is the outstanding option among economic models, while only 36% of French...
Yasuyo Yamazaki March 16, 2006
Japan's economy faces enormous challenges in the years ahead. It must both continue to compete with other fast-growing economies, like China, while finding a way to support and replace its aging work force. A critical challenge for Japan is how to handle the fast-graying population and the attendant health and retirement costs. By far the most problematic of such issues is the enormous...
Mohamed Hakki March 9, 2006
Neoconservatives support using the unrivaled power of the US to spread democratic values and prevent conflicts before they start. As the Iraq war drags on to its third year, such politicians have become less influential in the US. But one neoconservative disciple, Paul Wolfowitz, president of the World Bank since 2005, has been arguing for greater accountability. As the former US deputy...
Clifford Bob February 21, 2006