In The News

Americans Rank Last in Problem-Solving With Technology

Douglas Belkin March 11, 2016
In four decades, the United States went from having the most educated workforce in the world to struggling with math. In the midst of a US presidential campaign, voters express anxiety about jobs, competition, trade and immigration. Many demand local control over schools while rejecting a common curriculum. US skills are flagging, suggests a report that ranks the country’s workers as last for “...

The End of Globalization?

Daniel Gros March 9, 2016
Global trade, exports from China and commodity prices are in decline – and these trends are interconnected, argues Daniel Gros for Project Syndicate. Some analysts contend that globalization is dead, and Gros offers a reminder that globalization is not limited to trade: “Globalization entails many other features, including the surge in cross-border financial transactions and tourism, data...

States of Disorder

Philip Bobbitt March 8, 2016
In the early part of the 21st century, organizations like the G8, the European Union and NATO welcomed new members, and then the global economic crisis of 2007-2008 stalled the quest for increasing regional and global order. Many countries have taken a nationalistic turn, with governments cracking down on critics, and that may encourage opposition. Philosopher John Gray has pointed out that...

The World Is Stuck With Persistent Stagnation

Stephen Roach March 3, 2016
Economists expect the world economy to be more resilient than any of its parts, with recessions typically affecting only a few of the 200 economies at a time. Yet the world is gradually following the pattern of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, in struggling with persistent stagnation, explains economist and Yale faculty member Stephen Roach. For economists, the term “secular” describes...

NASA Accidentally Found a Way to Make Buildings Safer During Earthquakes

Margo Pierce March 3, 2016
Space flight has contributed many innovations with applications on Earth including LEDs, firefighting technologies and freeze-dried foods just to name a few. NASA has developed a stabilizing technology that prevents rockets from shaking and will also help protect buildings against high winds and earthquakes. The new stabilizer is less costly, a benefit for developing nations, and kicks into...

Inside Facebook’s Ambitious Plan to Connect the Whole World

Jessi Hempel March 2, 2016
Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, views the internet as an essential service. He “believes peer-to-peer communications will be responsible for redistributing global power, making it possible for any individual to access and share information,” writes Jessi Hempel for Wired. “People could tap into government services, determine crop prices, get health care. A kid in India … could...

Free Trade Under Threat

Nayan Chanda February 29, 2016
Anxiety is spreading in the world’s wealthiest nations about unemployment, inequality and economic uncertainty due to outsourcing, global supply chains and big trade agreements. The wages of ordinary workers stagnate while corporate earnings soar. Sizable blocs of voters angrily resist trade agreements, immigration and protections for refugees. “The US presidential elections in November promise...