In The News

Time to End Fuel Subsidies?

Will Hickey June 7, 2012
Subsidies distort markets and discourage development of substitutes. Subsidies for fuel are especially problematic, because energy is a backbone of any economy. In terms of energy production and consumption, the world is an uneven playing field in terms of reserves, taxes, regulations, public versus private ownership and income availability. An abrupt end to fuel subsidies would crush the poorest...

What’s Next for Europe?

Alistair Burnett May 23, 2012
Politicians in power since the 2008 financial collapse, regardless of their political stripes, find themselves in peril. Analysis of the recent French and Greek elections followed three lines of thought – that voters soundly rejected strict austerity measures, blamed incumbents, and abandoned mainstream political parties for more extremist leadership, both right and left. The three...

A Global Economy in Danger

Manu Bhaskaran May 21, 2012
The week’s global consultations are in order – a G20 Labor and Employment Ministerial Meeting convened in Mexico on employment policies; the G8 reached consensus on eurozone reforms at Camp David; NATO meets in Chicago to prepare for withdrawal from Afghanistan. The globe’s major economies are interconnected in so many ways, and the separate set of difficulties of each threatens ability to...

In Europe, North Battles South

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller March 16, 2012
European economies can be divided into two categories – one that’s more competitive and flexible; the other more rigid, struggling to repay debts. With a few exceptions, countries of northern Europe are generally more competitive than the countries along the Mediterranean, explains researcher Joergen Oerstroem Moeller. He urges that the European Union cooperate in enacting structural changes and...

For US, Europe’s Debt Woes Are an Ocean Away

Bruce Stokes February 13, 2012
Ignoring the European debt crisis is reckless for a major economy like the US – though riots in the streets of Athens, a reaction to austerity measures, may prompt new heed. Bruce Stokes points to many reasons for the US to act swiftly on the euro-crisis: Nearly 60 percent of overseas profits for US multinationals come from the continent, with 20 percent of US exports headed to Europe; austerity...

Tax Reform May Not Bring US Jobs Back

David Dapice February 3, 2012
Technology and ever-growing productivity – not outsourcing – are the main culprits behind declining jobs in the United States. The US president has proposed revising tax policy to encourage companies to apply growing profits to factories and research inside the US. But manufacturing is going the way of agriculture; fewer workers producing more. “Because of automation and technology, each factory...

France Deals With Globalization Crisis – Part II

Alain Renaudin January 27, 2012
Citizens of wealthy nations blame globalization and competition from Asia for unemployment and other economic woes. This two-part YaleGlobal series analyzes the temptations of protectionism, particularly in France during its presidential election campaign. Promoting labels that identify a product’s country of origin is not a solution, argues Alain Renaudin in the second and final article, and the...