In The News

Carolyn O’Hara August 2, 2010
Much attention is directed to nations with low birth rates and aging populations, blamed for diminished economic growth and strained government budgets. Another magazine, Foreign Policy, once even labeled the demographic phenomenon as a “Gray Menace.” But every cloud has its silver lining – and economics is not the only measure for quality of life. Developing nations with “youth bulges,” such as...
Nayan Chanda July 21, 2010
For more than four decades, Europe’s system of taxation provided its citizens with job security, education, health and retirement benefits that were envied around the globe. But global recession, an aging population and tax avoidance have disrupted the system, explains YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda in his regular column for Businessworld. Before the crisis struck, too many politicians tried to...
Armin Mahler, Christian Reiermann, Wolfgang Reuter, Janko Tietz June 30, 2010
Fortunes turn quickly, and the experience of German manufacturers shows that some firms emerge from recession with renewed strength. But global trade partners that rely on deficit spending claim that German prosperity comes at others’ expense, as suggests this Spiegel Online article. Critics complain that a weak euro, German wage stability and failure to stimulate domestic demand decrease the...
Louise Gray June 25, 2010
England’s bees are vanishing faster than anywhere else in Europe, reports Louis Gray for the Telegraph. With bees responsible for up to one third of the food supply, the British government is funding research to track down reasons behind the disappearance and find ways to boost populations. Insect pollinators contribute £440 million to the British economy, researchers estimate. Climate change,...
Bill Sasser June 1, 2010
Offshore oil drilling has enriched communities along the Gulf of Mexico since the 1970s. An explosion ripped apart undersea pipes in April and has since left oil gushing and polluting waters and beaches that have fed those same communities with seafood for centuries. One representative called the seeping oil in gulf waters “a slow-motion tragedy,” anticipating decades of problems and cleanup....
Kate Galbraith May 21, 2010
Nations may stake territorial claims to waters off their coast, but once an accident occurs, authorities can do little to slow the spread of polluted water to other jurisdictions. Since the April 20 explosion on a drill platform in the Gulf of Mexico, just off the coast of Louisiana, oil has steadily gushed from several pipes and will soon join currents leading to the Atlantic Ocean....
Ilaria Maria Sala May 20, 2010
Citizens around the globe understandably want to honor and protect their culture, expressed through language, food and art, from “foreign” influence – although such influences were often essential in creating traditions. The second article of this two-part series examines Italy’s battle against globalization, as politicians scramble to outdo one another with populist laws aimed at banning foreign...