In The News

Nobel Laureates Say Globalization's Winners Should Aid Poor

Joellen Perry August 27, 2008
Some citizens accrue more benefits from open and free markets than other citizens, and growing income inequality has become a major issue in elections around the globe. Wealth among nations is evening out. Yet within some nations and communities, those that don’t use taxes or government programs to guarantee widespread distribution of benefits and opportunity, the lopsided effects of trade and...

Unpopular President

August 26, 2008
Indonesia’s president reduced government subsidies for fuel in May, causing fuel prices to jump and his popularity among voters sank. But the coalition government continues an anti-poverty platform, including subsidized rice for the poor – and that combined with an ample supply could mitigate some economic complaints. Polls suggest that voters favor secular parties over those with Islamic roots...

A Global Approach Is Needed to Beat Inflation

Adam Posen August 26, 2008
Inflation invites discontent, because wages purchase less as the prices of goods and services rise. Central bankers, including those in the US and China, should cooperate in combating inflation, urge Adam Posen and Arvind Subramanian of the Peterson Institute for International Economics in an essay for the Financial Times. By resisting tighter monetary policies and expecting other nations to...

A Book Too Hot Off The Presses

Michelle Boorstein August 25, 2008
After the 9/11 attacks, a newspaper reporter in Montana became intrigued with the history of Islam and set out to write a book about Mohammed and his wives. During the course of her research, she became convinced that the Prophet “supported more rights for women than do many of his modern followers,” writes Michelle Boorstein for the Washington Post. The book, “The Jewel of Medina, is a...

The India-China Paradigm Is Passé

Kanika Datta August 25, 2008
The days of business nationalism are long over, including for those based in China and India, suggests Kanika Datta, writing for the Business Standard. Chinese and India businesses seek mergers and acquisitions with foreign firms to expand and deliver products and services quickly, cost-effectively and efficiently to both domestic and new markets. At times, firms venture into new territory to...

Emerging Markets Must Shift Their Focus Inwards

Raghuram Rajan August 22, 2008
Emerging markets can prepare for a slowdown in the US by allowing their currencies to appreciate in value and developing new products for their own consumers, advises Raghuram Rajan, finance professor with the University of Chicago and former chief economist of the International Monetary Fund. The transition – as developing nations shift from making products for Americans and Europeans to...

Japan to Launch Carbon Footprint Labeling Scheme

Justin McCurry August 22, 2008
Japanese consumers take environmental protection into account while choosing products, even suggesting in surveys that they don’t mind spending extra to purchase environmentally-friendly products. So the Japanese government has devised an intricate system to calculate and inform consumers on labels the level of carbon emissions associated with each product. Companies quickly supported the plan to...