In The News

India’s Dilemma: Faster Growth or Poverty Alleviation?

T.N. Ninan February 22, 2012
Fast growth from globalization can produce uneven results, enriching some citizens and leaving others behind. Balancing poverty removal and fast growth becomes more difficult when politicians have to worry about their constituents, notes Indian journalist T.N. Ninan. He uses battles in India over food subsidies, designed to eliminate hunger, and an employment guarantee program as examples of the...

Burma Ready to Play Ball With US

Bertil Lintner January 20, 2012
In 1989, after the Burmese military’s brutal suppression of protests for democracy, the US ambassador dismissed the country as having “very little strategic interest.” For the next two decades, the US unleashed fierce criticism on Burma’s leaders, imposing sanctions. An unintended consequence was to drive the regime closer to China and North Korea. The ties brought construction of Chinese oil...

US-Pakistani Relations in Crisis – Part II

Robert M. Hathaway January 5, 2012
Hours after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, Pakistan pledged to assist the US in fighting terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan. But a series of events, including the May discovery of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad and the November US strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers along the Afghan border, contribute to mounting mistrust in both nations. This YaleGlobal series examines the deteriorating...

India Not Shining Any More

Ashok Malik December 20, 2011
The world’s largest democracy wages constant battle against entrenched special interests and the lure of socialistic protectionism. The most recent skirmish was on India’s plan to allow limited foreign direct investment in the retail trade. Critics rallied, raising doubts about the government’s ability to protect small traders against giants like Walmart, Carrefour and other foreign retailers....

From Local to Global

Nayan Chanda December 13, 2011
Had the government proposal not run into a buzzsaw of opposition, foreign investors might have given India’s retail industry a jumpstart. The government tried to limit the potential impact on at least 20 million traders by limiting the big-box stores to cities with more than 1 million people, allowing state governments the right of refusal, mandating that 30 percent of manufactured and processed...

India Halts Wal-Mart Entry Amid Protests

Bibhudatta Pradhan, Andrew MacAskil December 8, 2011
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government could not overcome fear and opposition that modern big-box stores from the west would overwhelm the country’s small family-run stores – and suspended plans to let foreign retailers open stores in India. The change in plans reflects an inability to boost foreign investment and end policy paralysis, reports an article from Bloomberg. “In an attempt to kick...

Burma in the US-China Great Game – Part II

Aung Zaw December 7, 2011
China publicly shrugged at the Obama administration’s initiative to engage with Burma, widely seen as part of the US plan to reinforce its position in Asia. This YaleGlobal series analyzes the global ramifications of Burma’s willingness to diversify its relations beyond China. The West had imposed sanctions after Burma’s violent suppression of the democratic movement and setting aside 1990...