In The News

India’s Forgotten Farmers

Tarun Khanna March 7, 2008
Can India’s burgeoning economy lead to prosperity for all of its citizens, urban and rural alike? Thus far, India’s economic growth has been concentrated almost exclusively in urban centers, while rural areas remain largely mired in appalling poverty. Since 70 percent of India’s population lives in rural communities, the vast majority of Indians find themselves cut off from their nation’s...

Indonesia Relents Over Bird-Flu Sample Release

February 28, 2008
The high cost of health care has developing nations thinking ahead and balking at participating in global studies. After refusing to share H5N1 avian-flu samples with the World Health Organization, Indonesia has since relented and sent the samples on to researchers in the US. Indonesia “wants a material transfer agreement to protect its rights over the samples,” as well as access to any...

Will Ballots Win Over Bullets in Pakistan?

Paula R. Newberg February 15, 2008
The world holds low expectations for fair elections in Pakistan. Tightening military rule and removing civil liberties in recent years have not restored stability in the terrorism-plagued country that is also a nuclear power. After a turbulent 2007 – including bitter conflict between courts and the current president and assassination of a leading candidate, Benazir Bhutto – uncertainty prevails...

Developing Countries Worse Off Than Once Thought – Part II

Devesh Kapur February 13, 2008
High growth rates in an emerging economy can mask persistent and devastating poverty. A major goal for global institutions like the World Bank is reducing poverty by extending technological and financial assistance to developing nations. But targeted programs that flounder due to corruption or lack of local support, as well as those that cannot be replicated to serve a broader population, are not...

Internet Outages Hit India, Middle East

Matthew Rosenberg January 31, 2008
High-speed communication, via the internet, is essential in modern business. But high-speed internet that supports business and many other connections is only as dependable as its supporting cables and power. Bandwidth was cut in half in India, and internet service was disrupted throughout Asia after two cables under the Mediterranean snapped, possibly by a ship anchor. Outsourcing companies that...

His Faith, Our Faith

Ramachandra Guha January 30, 2008
Mahatma Ghandi’s model of non-violent political and social activism offered a new paradigm for world politics, a way for ordinary and oppressed people to join together in convincing powerful nations to change callous ways. Historian Ramachandra Guha questions whether Ghandi’s essential message can be separated from his religious beliefs. He writes in the Hindustan Times, “The distinctiveness of...

The Ink Fades on a Profession as India Modernizes

Anand Giridharadas January 7, 2008
As the conduit connecting service providers and consumers grows transparent, middlemen lose jobs. Illiteracy once guaranteed business for letter writers, but a growing economy that provides the resources for education, and affordable cell phone services has left letter writers jobless. This development appears to harm middlemen, but the jobs that technological advances generate more than...