In The News

A Valuable Stick

October 1, 2002
Private creditors who hold the sovereign debt of nations argue that collective action clauses are the best way to deal with countries on the brink of loan default. Collective action clauses entail a majority decision among creditors that will prevent individual creditors from blocking debt restructuring. When a country faces a cash-flow problem, creditors tend to withdraw funds or block debt...

UN Warns on Development Goals

Carola Hoyos October 1, 2002
Following the World Summit on Sustainable Development held recently in Johannesburg, the United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, reports that global efforts at development are falling short. Funding pledges made by richer developed countries two years ago have not been fulfilled, and little progress has been made in addressing global development issues such as poverty, disease, and...

The Next Wave of HIV/AIDS: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India, and China

October 1, 2002
The US National Intelligence Council says the number of people with HIV/AIDS will grow significantly by the end of the decade. The increase will be driven by the spread of the disease in five populous countries—Nigeria, Ethiopia, Russia, India, and China—where the number of infected people will grow from around 14 to 23 million currently to an estimated 50 to 75 million by 2010. This estimate...

Rich Nations Are Criticized for Enforcing Trade Barriers

Edmund L. Andrews September 30, 2002
The annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. provided critics an occasion to lambaste rich nations for their hypocrisy in preaching free trade while protecting their own farmers and workers. Is anybody listening? Farm subsidies and protection accorded to the textile industry, for instance, have a disproportionately large effect on poor countries...

Protesters Aim for Quiet Persuasion

Peronet Despeignes September 27, 2002
A year after the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, anti-globalization activists in the US appear to be following two main tactical approaches. While some groups continue the loud, vociferous protests akin to those seen at Seattle’s WTO meeting, others are pursuing a less confrontational approach aimed at creating dialog with the World Bank and IMF. – YaleGlobal

Is Globalization Sustainable?

David Dapice September 26, 2002
Globalization is not an inevitable, irreversible trend. With the destruction of World War I, increasingly integrated global economic structures began to unravel, collapsing during the Great Depression of the early 20th century. Our more recent era of globalization faces two major threats - political un-sustainability and terrorism. - YaleGlobal

A Place to Find Out for Yourself About War

Eric Umansky September 22, 2002
Freedom of information, the internet, international law, and free markets all converge on the issue of satellite imagery and its use – especially when the images are of military bases. Commercial satellite firms can now produce images that pinpoint a car on the ground – photo quality that only governments used to possess. And these firms are not only in the U.S., but are also cropping up in...