In The News

Korea Herald: South Korea Seeks Foreign Tech Firms

Shin Ji-hye January 30, 2019
South Korea will offer financial incentives and streamline regulations to attract foreign firms that can upgrade the nation’s traditional manufacturing sectors including petrochemicals, high-end manufacturing, automobiles and health care, announced the chief of investment policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The range of targets is broad: “The ministry will also focus on luring...

RAND: Russia and China as Challenges

James Dobbins, Howard J. Shatz and Ali Wyne January 30, 2019
Russia is intent on subverting the international order while China wants to compete in shaping that order. “Both countries seek to alter the status quo, but only Russia has attacked neighboring states, annexed conquered territory, and supported insurgent forces seeking to detach yet more territory,” suggests a RAND report. “In contrast, China's growing influence is based largely on more-...

MIT Technology Review: Electric-Car Industry

Jordyn Dahl January 29, 2019
China did not need to master traditional auto manufacturing to dominate the electric-vehicle industry. China has lined up policies to ensure its dominance – for example, obtaining licenses is much easier for those with electric vehicles. The Chinese government “made electric vehicles one of the 10 pillars of Made in China 2025 – a state-led plan for the country to become a global leader in high-...

Project Syndicate: Global Trade Cycle Warnings

Stephen S. Roach January 29, 2019
Growth in global trade has slowed since the 2008 debt crisis, and the trade cycle confronts many uncertainties in 2019, including Brexit, a US-China trade war and military conflicts that could ignite at any time. The International Monetary Fund has already revised its forecasts for global economic growth, from 3.7 to 3.5 percent. Stephen Roach, an economist and senior fellow at at Yale’s Jackson...

New York Times: Screws for iPhones Assembled in US

Jack Nicas January 28, 2019
Companies from around the world contribute parts for complex products like the Apple iPhone. China is the center for the supply chains, with teams orchestrating delivery of thousands of parts, some requiring custom work. Such a supply-chain infrastructure prevents fast relocation of assembly operations other nations. Donald Trump, early in his presidency, questioned why Apple and other computer...

El País: Globalization of Polarization

Moisés Naím January 28, 2019
Some political camps reject their opponents’ plans so much – even those supported by hefty majorities of citizens – that they refuse any cooperation, preferring shutdowns and chaos. Such is the case in the United States, Great Britain and numerous other democracies. The angry stubbornness associated with polarization is spreading worldwide, weakening most democracies. “Before, democratic...

TNI: Unused Citizen Power and Public Collateral

Ann Pettifor January 26, 2019
Citizen majorities who support action on climate change or a tax system that reduces inequality must find political courage to battle moneyed interests. Citizens in nations with sound taxation systems hold more power than they realize. Taxpayers can demand that public debt target the public interest – as former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt accomplished during the Great Depression and some...