In The News

The World Is Stuck With Persistent Stagnation

Stephen Roach March 3, 2016
Economists expect the world economy to be more resilient than any of its parts, with recessions typically affecting only a few of the 200 economies at a time. Yet the world is gradually following the pattern of Japan, the world’s third largest economy, in struggling with persistent stagnation, explains economist and Yale faculty member Stephen Roach. For economists, the term “secular” describes...

Welcome to the Twenty-First Century

Joschka Fischer February 5, 2016
The world has many troubles including destabilized markets and low oil prices, high debt levels, terrorism and the ongoing refugee crisis for the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. The international order of the 20th century is shifting, and no suitable replacement is waiting in the wings. “Today, the Pax Americana that ensured a large degree of global stability has begun to fray – most...

Bank of Japan Stuns Global Markets by Announcing Negative Interest Rates

David Scutt January 29, 2016
The Bank of Japan narrowly approved a three-tiered system on rates including one in the negative territory, -0.1 percent for “excess reserves parked at the bank by financial institutions,” reports David Scutt for Business Insider Australia.The move essentially encourages lending and charges banks for storing cash. The central bank also announced further rate cuts may be issued as needed. “The BOJ...

Davos 2016: Questions About Globalization's End and What Comes Next

Paul Laudicina January 22, 2016
Each year the World Economic Forum convenes government, industry and activist leaders to offer regional and international proposals along with private-public partnerships. Uncertainty and the expectations for “fundamental, radical global shifts” have permeated the 2016 meeting, explains Paul Laudicina for Forbes. “How leaders manage this system shift in years to come will determine the course the...

The World Wary as US Federal Reserve Declares End to Debt Crisis

Chris Miller January 5, 2016
Central banks around the globe responded to the 2007-2008 global debt crisis by reducing interest rates and loosening monetary policy to encourage consumer spending, investment, employment and price stability. After seven years the US Federal Reserve lifted interest rates in December and signaled the possibility of gradual rate hikes, a move described by Chairwoman Janet Yellen as a process of “...

The Globalization of America’s Colleges

Laura McKenna November 27, 2015
The number of international students attending US colleges approached 1 million for the 2014-15 academic year. Such students represent 5 percent of the college population. Top states are California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Illinois. Colleges with more than 11 percent international students include New York University, University of Southern California, Columbia University, Arizona...

Is It Time for Global Money?

Larry Hatheway and Alexander Friedman November 18, 2015
A fragmented set of currencies pose some risks, argue Larry Hatheway and Alexander Friedman for Project Syndicate, and a global currency could reduce currency wars and increase efficiency and price transparency. But such a currency is unlikely because the system would require legitimacy unavailable beyond the level of national-state. “At the supra-national level, legitimacy remains highly...