In The News

Rise to the Rising Sea Levels

Nayan Chanda June 26, 2014
Evidence of a warming planet is on full display – advanced degrees in science is no longer needed. Farmers cope with droughts, insurers compensate victims of violent storms, pilots on transatlantic flights point out a Greenland with massive swaths no longer white with snow and ice in springtime. “Warm weather is leading ice sheets to break up and turning glaciers into flowing streams,” writes...

As Latin American Economic Growth Slows, Regional Economies Are at a Crossroads

Mimi Whitefield June 20, 2014
Latin America had a long spell of economic growth, 5.9 percent, and a so-called “golden decade” due to bubbles, loose credit and a commodity boom that peaked in 2010. Latin American growth was analyzed at the University of Miami Latin America Symposium, covered by Mimi Whitefield for the Miami Herald. Since 2010, the region’s growth has tapered. Governments now face challenges to maintain...

Inequality and the Nature of Capital: A Reminder

Chandran Nair June 17, 2014
Complaints about inequality have taken the West by storm, and that accounts for the success of the book “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” by economist Thomas Piketty. Inequality is not a new topic for developing nations, notes author Chandran Nair. “Piketty, like every other economist, seeks to explain the world with reference to economic capital alone while ignoring the mother of all...

Coffee Rust Reaches New Heights in Central America

Moises Castillo and Marcos Aleman June 9, 2014
Rising temperatures and climate change have put the Central American coffee industry into crisis mode with economic repercussions for the region, reports the Associated Press. A fungus called “coffee rust” is destroying coffee plants. So far, there is no known cure. Farmers manage harvests by spraying or replacing infected trees. Disease-resistant plants have been developed, but planting new...

China Trades Up in Latin America

Jill Richardson June 6, 2014
Since 2000, China has become a strategic economic actor in Latin America, the top trader for Brazil, Chile and Peru. Chinese exports to Latin America have grown in volume and valuation, especially in manufacturing and electronics, but China’s huge influence comes with a cost, including volatility in the commodities markets, reports Jill Richardson for Foreign Policy in Focus. China’s trading...

How Climate Change Will Destroy Your Country's Credit Rating

Todd Woody May 27, 2014
It is a bitter irony that rising seas, severe drought and violent storms associated with climate change will slam the world’s poorest nations that consume the least energy per capita. Changing weather patterns will also hit national credit ratings, raising borrowing costs for investment in infrastructure like dams or post-disaster rebuilding, notes a report from Standard & Poor’s. “S&P...

China’s Global Search for Energy

Clifford Krauss and Keith Bradsher May 23, 2014
A 30-year natural gas deal with Russia and towing a massive oil rig in disputed waters in the South China Sea are just two examples of China’s intense pursuit of energy. “Whether by diplomacy, investment or in extreme cases, force, China is going to great lengths to satisfy its growing hunger for energy to fuel its expanding car fleet and electrify its swelling cities,” report Clifford Krauss and...