In The News

Obama Calls for International Tax Reform Amid Panama Papers Revelations

Rupert Neate and David Smith April 6, 2016
Governments struggle to provide basic services as wealthiest citizens find ways, legal and illegal, to evade taxes. The release of more than 11 million files, known as the Panama Papers, from the law firm Mossack Fonseca detail methods for reducing taxes: shell companies, minimal disclosure requirements, property investments, trust funds and outright fraud. Repercussions of the massive leak are...

Economic Ramifications of Remittances-for-Border Wall Proposal

Susanna Kim April 5, 2016
A US presidential candidate has proposed blocking workers from sending remittances to their families and canceling visas to force Mexico to build a wall along the shared border. Policy analysts quickly responded that a plan to block such money transfers would harm both economies and may violate laws. Aaron Klein, Brookings Institution fellow, in a report by Susanna Kim for ABC News, explained...

China, Russia Seek to Profit as the EU Beacon of Democracy Goes Dim

Humphrey Hawksley April 5, 2016
“Not long ago the European Union stood as an unassailable beacon, a model for how trade and shared values could override historical hatreds and how a disparate collection of nations could work together under a single set of political values,” argues Humphrey Hawksley, BBC correspondent, in this YaleGlobal esssay. The EU is now vulnerable to the charms – and illusions – of authoritarian order....

Debunking America’s Populist Narrative

J. Bradford DeLong April 5, 2016
As US voters worry stagnant wages, the availability of good jobs, and the nation’s ability to compete, economist J. Bradford DeLong suggests that candidates and voters may be going after the wrong targets. “The reason that incomes have stagnated is that American politicians have failed to implement policies to manage globalization’s effects,” he writes for Project Syndicate. US candidates have...

Climate Catastrophe, Coming Even Sooner?

Elizabeth Kolbert April 4, 2016
Climate change could deliver devastating effects to coastal communities sooner than once thought. Researchers, since 1968, have pointed out that warming oceans could seep around and underneath polar ice sheets, undermining them and causing sea levels to rise. New research and a new model from Penn State confirm the worst fears, suggesting that “just a few more decades of ‘unabated’ carbon...

Panama Papers: Leaks Spur Global Investigations

April 4, 2016
Investing funds in offshore accounts is not necessarily illegal, but avoiding taxes is a violation of local and national laws. “Eleven million documents were leaked from the secretive Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca,” reports BBC News. “They show how the company has helped some clients launder money, dodge sanctions and avoid tax.” The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists...

Rohingya Left Behind in Myanmar's Power Transition

Lucy Kafanov April 1, 2016
Inequality and an utter lack of health care, education and opportunity for a minority group of people does not reflect well on governance. “Denied citizenship and voting rights as well as access to proper medical care and education, the Rohingya have been largely left behind in Myanmar's widely-lauded transition to democracy following a November election that swept Aung San Suu Kyi's...