In The News

Guardian: Shocking Reality of Live Animal Exports

Borzou Daragahi July 30, 2018
Global demand for meat is on the rise and so is the long-distance trade in live farm animals. Horses, pigs, cows, sheep, donkeys, goats are raised in one part of the world with access to hay and other feed, then trucked or shipped to other countries for slaughter and processing. Long journeys and border delays are stressful. “Sometimes, the animals are left on the lorries for days, stuck inside...

Grist: Climate Change Is Here

Eric Holthaus July 27, 2018
Climate change and warming temperatures intensify wildfires in Greece and the American West, flooding in Northeast America, heavy rainfall and unbearable temperatures in Asia. In Greece, people tried to escape fires by running into the Aegean Sea and at least 80 died. Heavy rain in Laos caused a hydroelectric dam under construction to fail, forcing entire communities forced to evacuate with...

Foreign Affairs: The Failures of Capitalism

Robin Varghese July 26, 2018
Wages for the poorer half of the population in Europe and the United States have had sluggish growth over the last 50 years, while corporate profits have soared. Karl Marx, philosopher and economist, had predicted that the nature of capitalism would lead to inequality, unemployment, stagnant wages and oligopolistic firms. While communist revolutions did occur in countries like Russia and China,...

The Economist: How to Rescue the WTO

July 26, 2018
The World Trade Organization, long dependent on US trade policy, now struggles to intervene in the current trade war with China. The WTO is forced to remain a bystander as the United States blocks nominations to seats to the dispute settlement board even as the number of trade disputes rise. Another ongoing challenge is China’s distortion of trade through mercantilism, state-owned firms and...

Brookings: Social Protection Programs and Life Satisfaction

Talajeh Livani and Carol Graham July 24, 2018
Do universal basic income and strong public welfare programs work? Experts in developed and developing countries have mixed reviews. Welfare programs “often come with stigma and disempowerment, in addition to high administrative costs, supporting the case for universal basic income guarantees” write Talejeh Livani and Carol Graham for Brookings. Measuring the effectiveness of social assistance...

Spiegel: WTO Faces Existential Threat

Martin Hesse July 19, 2018
Free trade adds efficiency to the world’s marketplaces. The WTO’s 164 members make decisions by consensus with the goal of leveling “the playing field between strong and weak countries, between industrialized and developing economies, with the goal of increasing prosperity for all,” reports Martin Hesse for Spiegel Online, but the organization has become less relevant as countries pursue...

New York Times: Humiliation in Helsinki

Mark Landler July 17, 2018
Donald Trump, who boasts about his strength and tough negotiating skills, groveled before Russian President Vladimir Putin during a summit in Helsinki. The meeting prompted consternation at home and abroad as well as questions about the president's patriotism and common sense. “Rather than defend the United States against those who would threaten it, he attacked his own citizens and...