In The News

The Credit Bubble, the Bears and the Central Bankers

Gillian Tett October 2, 2015
Emerging markets are following the pattern of developed economies with stagnant growth. Attempts to stimulate economies may lead to another credit bubble, notes Gillian Tett, adding that “the way that financial flows operate today in, say, Shanghai is almost as mysterious for investors as subprime mortgages were in California a decade ago, and just as dangerously contagious.” Between 2004 and...

Xi-Obama Summit: Bridging the Trust Deficit in US-China Ties?

Robert A. Manning September 29, 2015
China and the United States disagree on many issues – including claims for the South China Sea, intellectual property protections, open access to the internet and free speech. Leaders of the world’s two largest economies also have reason to cooperate on global initiatives. Xi Jinping, China’s president and general secretary of the Communist Party, visited the United States, meeting US President...

Containing China’s Slowdown

Lee Jong-Wha September 23, 2015
China’s economy is slowing its fast pace of growth. This year’s rate is projected at 6.3 percent. Lee Jong-Wha, an economics professor writing for Project Syndicate, points to weak domestic activity and external demand, falling fertility rates and an aging population, competition on wages from other nations, and a struggle to make productivity gains with technology. He suggests that China has...

China’s Strategy in US Car Market: Make Parts First

Colum Murphy and Jeff Bennett September 21, 2015
Chinese automakers may eventually become a global force in the auto industry. Rather than follow the Japanese model of importing cars, Chinese firms are acquiring US and European auto parts plants. “By first learning to make and sell car parts in markets like the U.S., leaders in China’s auto industry say, companies can then use the lessons to move on to selling cars overseas,” reports the Wall...

Stuffing Data Gaps With Dollars: What Will It Cost to Close the Data Deficit in Poor Countries?

Laurence Chandy and Christine Zhang September 18, 2015
Data collections, as simple as population counts, contribute to good planning on services that benefit a nation’s development, health and prosperity. Yet such collections are lacking in low-income countries. The International Monetary Fund has set standards on data dissemination and 66 countries don’t meet those standards for population surveys, more than 70 lack living standard surveys and 39...

Seeking Safety Abroad: Hidden Story in China’s FDI Statistics

Farok J. Contractor September 10, 2015
Despite a recent slowdown, China’s economy is still growing. Its citizens are much wealthier than they were just a few decades ago and like investors around the world, they seek secure places to store assets. “However, the fact is that enormous amounts of liquid money held by Chinese individuals and companies have, for many years, been anxiously trying to leave China and leave the renminbi as an...

China Stock Turbulence Will Boost Our Real Estate: Australia's Treasurer

David Uren September 10, 2015
The newspaper headline is repeated in New York, Sydney, Vancouver, Seattle and London – turbulent Chinese markets could boost real estate prices in foreign markets. China investors buy homes in major cities and also take advantage of immigration programs, including the EB-5 program in the United States which provides green cards to foreigners who invest in job-creating businesses, including real...