In The News

Don’t Cry For Me, Motown

Nayan Chanda August 19, 2013
Detroit was a US auto manufacturing center a few decades ago, but now its population of 700,000, down from 2 million, cannot afford to pay off $18 billion in debt and unfunded liabilities. The city has filed for bankruptcy. “Outsourcing, automation and suburbanisation have drained its population” and “the bankruptcy of what used to be the country’s fourth-largest city does indeed signal the...

Rise of the Renting, Sharing Economy Could Have Ripple Effects

Matthew Boesler August 16, 2013
The global debt crisis devastated job and wage prospects for many young adults in the world’s wealthiest nations. But many young adults have adapted and are content to live with less: They’re in no hurry to purchase homes or take on debt, instead renting modest apartments and sharing services like wireless; they prefer living close to work, avoiding cars and long commutes; when they travel, they...

Put Doomsday on the Schedule

David Dapice January 7, 2013
Americans, like most citizens all over the world, resent paying taxes, but are fond of government programs that allow health care, education or science to flourish. The US is overextended, living beyond its means, and Congress is divided over how to ease the climbing debt: Liberal Democrats want to tax the rich, while conservative Republicans aim to reduce spending that help citizens. Congress...

Recipe for a Post-Hegemonic USA

Kenneth Weisbrode January 2, 2013
US Congress, bitterly partisan, engages in petty bickering and repeatedly fails to resolve any number of pressing crises, let alone craft uplifting legislation for the country and the world. The poor behavior of the legislative body – blocking opponents at any cost – is symptomatic of the fading superpower status of the US and reinforces the loss of global influence. In terms of currency,...

The French Connection

Nayan Chanda December 12, 2012
Steadfast national sovereignty and global trade don’t mix so well, warns Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online, in his column for Businessworld. Traders and investors appreciate flexibility. So when steel demand in Europe declined and ArcelorMittal announced plans to close two blast furnaces, the French government responded by threatening temporary nationalization and sale of the firm’s...

US Lags in Race for Tech Talent

Vivek Wadhwa October 26, 2012
The US is highly protectionist on labor and jobs. The country remains a top destination among skilled talent because of its opportunities in education, angel investors and markets. But regulations on visas that allow immigrants to work at US firms increasingly lead to bottlenecks in the application process and career obstacles for individuals in a highly mobile global market for top talent. US...

China Rebalancing Won’t Doom Region

Deepak Gopinath October 24, 2012
China aims to be more than an assembly line. The government is actively rebalancing its economy to exit industries dependent on raw materials and labor, and that provides great opportunity for China’s neighbors in two ways, explains Deepak Gopinath, global markets director for Trusted Sources, an emerging-markets consulting firm. Neighboring economies can pick up the slack in low-value industries...