In The News

G20 Leaders Endorse Crackdown on Tax Evasion

November 18, 2015
Global leaders are pledging to crack down on tax evasion and also work on sustainable growth. The group of the world’s 20 largest economies, including the European Union and 19 countries, “committed to the implementation of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (BEPS) which closes gaps that allow corporate profits to ‘disappear’ or to be artificially shifted to low or no tax environments...

Live Longer, Consume Less: Recipe for Slow Growth

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller October 20, 2015
Global growth no longer keeps the pace of just a decade ago. Researcher Joergen Oerstroem Moeller points to behaviors that contribute to reduced consumption: Life expectancy has risen, but ages for collecting pensions have remained steady at around age 60, thus stretching out the retirement stage of life. Fearing poverty, combined with increased uncertainty over government regulations and social...

Angus Deaton’s Nobel Is a Victory for Globalization – And Raises Hard Questions About It

Tim Fernholz October 13, 2015
Economies are built on people’s choices, and the Nobel for economic sciences, the Sverges Riksbank Prize, has been awarded to Angus Deaton for his research in that area. “In a world where we increasingly measure welfare based on what we can consume, Deaton has given policymakers important tools to boost prosperity, particularly in poor countries, while arguing – sometimes controversially – that...

The Trans-Pacific Free-Trade Charade

Joseph E. Stiglitz and Adam S. Hersh October 8, 2015
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is more about “managed trade” than “free trade,” argue economists Joseph Stiglitz and Adam Hersh. The agreement requires approval from legislators of 12 nations. Stiglitz and Hersh argue that industry protections in the agreement may curtail innovation in many areas: “Under these investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) systems, foreign investors gain new rights to...

US, Japan and 10 Countries Strike Pacific Trade Deal

Shawn Donnan and Demetri Sevastopulo October 6, 2015
Twelve nations reached agreement on a huge free-trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership which covers labor conditions, environment protections, investor-state dispute settlement mechanisms, intellectual property and packaging laws. The partnership is expected to cover 40 percent of world trade and is described as a success for US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for...

Xi-Obama Summit: Bridging the Trust Deficit in US-China Ties?

Robert A. Manning September 29, 2015
China and the United States disagree on many issues – including claims for the South China Sea, intellectual property protections, open access to the internet and free speech. Leaders of the world’s two largest economies also have reason to cooperate on global initiatives. Xi Jinping, China’s president and general secretary of the Communist Party, visited the United States, meeting US President...

Crunchtime for Global Tax-Avoidance Push

Paul Hannon September 29, 2015
Multinational corporations earn revenues in wealthy markets but file income reports from off-shore financial hubs. The Organization of Economic Development and Cooperation is working with representatives of near 50 countries on a new set of rules to prevent multinational corporations from dodging tax payments. “If the rules work as planned, they will help ensure big companies pay tax on profits...