In The News

Joseph E. Stiglitz October 20, 2014
Studies confirm that inequality continues in the United States as income rises for the very rich but stagnates or even declines for the majority. Economist Joseph Stiglitz describes a study from the UN Development Programme for an essay for Project Syndicate: “America ranks fifth according to HDI, below Norway, Australia, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. But when its score is adjusted for...
Shuaihua Cheng October 14, 2014
The Trans-Pacific Partnership, negotiated by 12 nations, could account for one third of all global trade. But so far, China is not included even though the country is a top trade partner for most of the participants and the world’s leading economy when accounting for purchasing power parity. TPP would eliminate tariffs and reduce non-tariff barriers. China would prefer reducing those tariffs by...
Libby Brooks October 13, 2014
Glasgow University in Scotland has voted to divest from the fossil fuel industry and is selling its holdings in the sector, worth £18 million, or US $12 million. The decision follows a year of pressure and campaigning from a student organization, the Glasgow University Climate Action Society, part of a broader international university movement. The “Fossil Free” university movement began in the...
Vauhini Vara October 9, 2014
Diagnosis of the first US Ebola case was followed by petitions demanding travel bans from West Africa. But modern airline travel entails multiple connections, and travel bans would not work, explains Vauhini Vara for the New Yorker. Bans would disrupt economies and slow transfer of essential supplies and personnel required to stem the infectious disease. Determined individuals could circumvent...
Laurie Garrett October 6, 2014
Ebola will test the world’s diverse systems of health care. The United States is alone among advanced economies in lacking a universal health care system, and its health care costs more per capita than that of any other country. A system with unequal benefits makes the country vulnerable on two fronts: US hospitals offer state-of-the art treatment, a plane ride away, for the insured or those with...
Rose Eveleth October 6, 2014
About half of the world’s languages are at risk of falling into disuse in the near future. This rapid disappearance of languages is attributed to globalization, which has granted languages like English a special status of utility that rare languages do not share. Translators from entities like the Living Tongues Institute seeking to preserve endangered languages are working with “Viki,” a website...
Eric Farnsworth October 3, 2014
Brazilians head to the polls, and the results could be a bellweather for the whole region. Latin American economies have flourished during the last decade due to growing worldwide demand for their copper, iron ore, meat and soy. However, the region can anticipate a slowdown as the world continues to recover from recent economic crises and as growth subsides in China, their main market. Regional...