In The News

Expats Become Nepal's Biggest Money Spinner

AFP January 31, 2006
Nepal’s Maoist insurgency has paralyzed the country, driving civilians from their villages and leaving the kingdom’s economy in ruins. The war has driven away many of the tourists on which the poor-but-picturesque Himalayan nation relies, while foreign aid donors have cut off their assistance to the country in protest of King Gyanendra’s autocratic style of government. Nepalese, fearful for...

China Could Learn From India’s Slow and Quiet Rise

Yasheng Huang January 27, 2006
Two years ago the view that India might have a more competitive economy than China was met with incredulity. Now a comparison of the two countries offers valuable insights for anyone studying economic growth. A fundamental distinction is that China’s growth stems from resource accumulation while India’s is rooted in increasing efficiency. Those who warned that India attracted too little foreign...

Europe’s Improving Economy Still Faces Some Hurdles Amid Global Competition

Marcus Walker January 24, 2006
With exports to the US, Asia, and oil-producing countries boosting corporate profits, Europe’s economy has attracted increasing optimism ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Wall Street Journal reporter Marcus Walker, however, warns us not to “count on Europe to float the global economy yet.” Cheap global competition—particularly from China and Eastern Europe—has inhibited...

Fearing Social Unrest, China Tries to Rein in Unbridled Capitalism

January 24, 2006
China’s economy continues to grow at more than 9 percent per year, and Beijing fears that a sudden crash would bring immeasurable consequences. Low consumer spending, government planners worry, would provide little cushioning for a slump. At the same time, distressed debt, a flimsy infrastructure, and increasing air and water pollution present further incalculable costs of China’s rapid...

Export-Led Growth: The Elephant in the Room

Thomas Palley January 17, 2006
Economic experts are professing themselves confounded by continued US prosperity despite trade deficits and rising interest rates. Thomas Palley explains that export-led growth, or the exchange of goods produced in Emerging Market (EM) countries for US dollars, has contributed much to the buoyant economy. Since EM countries have thus far chosen to use the dollars received for their goods to buy...

As Brazil Fills Up on Ethanol, It Weans Off Energy Imports

David Luhnow January 16, 2006
Over the past three decades Brazil has worked to create a viable alternative to gasoline. With its sugarcane-based fuel, the nation may become energy independent this year. Brazil’s ethanol program, which originated in the 1970s in response to the uncertainties of the oil market, has enjoyed intermittent success. Still, many Brazilians are driving “flexible fuel” cars that run on either ethanol...

The Power of Oil

Dilip Hiro January 10, 2006
As demand for oil increases, the dependent countries hesitate to antagonize those with ample supply. As a result, developing nations that are oil-rich have discovered newfound power, with oil politics often taking priority over democracy or human rights. For example, Chinese energy interests protect the Sudan from US anger over the massacre in Darfur. Likewise, some Western capitals are reluctant...