In The News

A Global Laughingstock, US Politicking Threatens Economy

Philip Bowring August 2, 2011
US Congress went to the wire, lifting a debt ceiling to allow payment of its bills, salaries and benefits. The world wasn’t impressed by a last-minute show of unity, after weeks of unseemly squabbling that put the global economy at risk. Financial journalist Philip Bowring contends the spectacle that raised the long-term costs of government borrowing also exposed an undercurrent of troubles: US...

Employment Versus Debt

Nayan Chanda July 26, 2011
Confronting an ongoing economic crisis, US politicians have assigned greater priority to the nation’s large deficit rather than an unemployment rate officially listed at 9.2 percent. Also overlooked is a report from the US Department of Labor that 3 million job openings go unfilled. It’s a head-scratching moment, suggests Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor in his regular column for Businessworld,...

The Eurozone Heads for Breakup

Nouriel Roubini June 16, 2011
Greece, a nation of 11.2 million, owes more than €300 billion. Restructuring the debt is inevitable, notes Nouriel Roubini in a blog posting for the Financial Times. The only unknowns are how and when. Europe united behind the euro as a single currency before enacting structural reforms and streamlining monetary, fiscal and exchange-rate policies, Roubini explains, adding that “early interest...

Advanced Economies: Minutes to Midnight? Part II

Bruce Stokes May 2, 2011
To encourage growth, governments borrowed to finance infrastructure and current expenditures, and anticipated revenues to eventually cover the costs. Low interest rates led to surging debt, investment bubbles and unrealistic growth projections rather than a sustainable economy with jobs and tax revenues. This two-part series analyzes the impending crisis for advanced economies. Europe had hoped...

The Experience Economy

David Brooks February 24, 2011
Consumers snap up the latest in electronic devices and regularly use sites like Facebook or Twitter. But such new inventions contribute a fraction of direct jobs produced by the automobile industry, notes David Brooks in his column for the New York Times. Brooks quotes Tyler Cowen’s e-book, “The Great Stagnation,” in suggesting that the US had a history of strong economic growth because of easy “...

Anger Divides America Blocking New Thinking

Lewis M. Simons January 31, 2011
In a vibrant democracy, citizens press fervently for many causes, and US presidents must frequently remind their nation, as Abraham Lincoln once did before he became president and before the Civil War, that "A house divided against itself cannot stand." As during the Civil War, today’s anger spilling out in the United States focuses inward, seeking to lay blame for the nation’s decline...

China and the EU: Building a Reciprocal Relationship

Doug Saunders January 21, 2011
A three-nation European tour by the Chinese vice-premier underscores China’s critical role for the continent’s economy. “China, in short, has become Europe's rescuer,” writes Doug Saunders for the Globe and Mail. China easily directs its reserves to buy up bonds from countries in shaky financial condition. In return, China wants the European Union to open its markets to Chinese exports. It...