In The News

Renminbi Undervalued? Think Again

Farok J. Contractor May 8, 2014
The Chinese currency may be under-valued, but not by much. The renminbi has appreciated by 35 percent since 2005 amid persistent inflation in China’s manufacturing sector, and further appreciation is unlikely, reports Farok J. Contractor, management professor. The semi-annual US Treasury report describes the currency as “significantly undervalued,” but does not declare China a “currency...

Profitable Development Solutions: How the Private Sector Can Contribute to the Post-2015 Agenda

Laurence Chandy, Kemal Derviş, George Ingram, Homi Kharas and Steven Rocker May 1, 2014
The United Nations posed eight millennium goals, including elimination of extreme poverty. Progress has been made, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a meeting in August 2013 to analyze how to achieve that goal by 2030. The Brookings Institution offers a special report on the meeting with focus on better coordination of private and public funding for development aid: “the developing...

The Rise of Asia Means You Need Different Style of Leadership

Rick Lash April 29, 2014
The challenges of globalization and global markets require new leadership – of broader collaboration among diverse players. “Countries and organizations can no longer operate under the outdated notion that they are surrounded by intact borders and bear sole responsibility for taking charge over what happens on their turf,” writes Rick Lash for the Globe and Mail. “Leadership in the new world...

Will TTIP Harm the Global Trading System?

Katinka Barysch and Michael Heise January 9, 2014
The European Union’s member states form the world’s largest economy followed by the United States. So, the rest of the world is wary about ongoing negotiations for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, or TTIP. Other trading partners of the US and the EU may have to meet new regulations without having a voice in their making. Or in other areas, the partners may have to deal with two...

Easing One-Child Policy May Be Too Late

Joseph Chamie January 7, 2014
A Chinese policy that generally limited families to one child has been revised: Couples can have two children if either spouse is an only child. But China may discover that increasing family size is tougher than reduction, warns demographer Joseph Chamie. “This mid-course correction in population policy will have marginal effect as China is aging at a much faster pace than occurred in other...

Global Experts Still Need Local Knowledge

Pranab Bardhan December 12, 2013
Many professions have gone global, as leading researchers hunt for global patterns, develop global indices and make global pronouncements. Economist Pranab Bardhan analyzes this trend in the field of economic development, and points out, “With the advance of such ‘global practices’ what gets short shrift is the old-fashioned in-depth study into the historical-institutional contexts of particular...

Bali Boost: WTO Lives, Snatched for Now From Jaws of Defeat

Jean-Pierre Lehmann December 10, 2013
A round of congratulations is in order for the WTO, after agreement in Bali on a package that promises a spirit of global cooperation and level playing field for developing nations, particularly in agriculture, commodities and labor-intensive manufactured goods. But the agreement is essentially a package of promises. Ultimate success requires leadership and vision, warns Jean-Pierre Lehmann,...