In The News

What the Latest Standardized School Tests Tell Us

Karin Klein December 9, 2016
Strong education systems contribute to strong economies. Every three years the Programme for International Student Assessment, PISA, tests the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in math, reading and science. More than 80 countries have participated, and many obsess about rankings. Comparisons based on raw scores can be tricky, warns Karin Klein for the Los Angeles Times. Researchers...

OPEC Cobbles a Deal, But Cannot Hide Decline of Saudi Power

Chris Miller December 8, 2016
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was created by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela in 1960. OPEC now has 13 members. During the 1970s, oil prices quadrupled, but OPEC's ability to set strict production limits and influence prices has slipped away in recent years. It took more than two years after the crash in oil prices for the oil producers, along with Russia,...

Foreign Companies Face New Clampdown for Getting Money Out of China

James T. Areddy and Lingling Wei December 8, 2016
China, less keen about the yuan becoming a global currency, abruptly applied a new limit for capital outflows. “China’s foreign-exchange regulator has instructed banks to sharply limit how much companies move out of the country and into their other operations around the world,” report James T. Areddy and Lingling Wei for the Wall Street Journal. “The recent moves effectively erode the yuan’s...

Can Trump – or Anyone – Bring Back US Manufacturing?

December 8, 2016
US voters and politicians worry about the loss of manufacturing and assembly jobs, which carry a wage premium over most service jobs. Yet numerous economists and other analysis express doubt that such jobs can quickly be restored in the United States. “The biggest reason Trump — or anyone else — can’t bring back jobs is because there is nowhere to bring them back from,” notes an article from...

Caesarean Births “Affecting Human Evolution”

Helen Briggs December 7, 2016
Recent studies have suggested that rapid changes in the environment can speed evolutionary responses. Increasing reliance on Caesarean sections contributed to more mothers requiring surgery to deliver infants, suggests theoretical biologist Philipp Mitteröcker at the University of Vienna. Helen Briggs wrote about the study for BBC News: “The researchers devised a mathematical model using data...

Trade Week Africa and the Continental Free Trade Area

Amy Copley December 7, 2016
Africa is not rejecting trade agreements. All 54 countries on the continent are projected to be in the Continental Free Trade Area, or CFTA, which “is shaping up to be the largest free trade area in the world in terms of the population it covers,” notes Amy Copley for the Brookings Institution. The African Union and UN groups continue negotiations, and analysts suggest that CFTA could increase...

Korea Unveils Road Map to Curb Carbon Emissions

Shin Hyon-hee December 6, 2016
South Korea has released a detailed action plan to reduce carbon emissions and “boost incentives for renewable energy and cleaner power plant projects,” reports Shin Hyon-hee for the Investor. “It intends to raise the share of renewable sources in its portfolio to 7 percent from the existing 6 percent by 2020.” The country anticipates global discussions on international mechanisms including...