In The News

Wanted: Competent Foreigners to Work for Ukrainian Government

Olena Lennon October 27, 2015
Ukraine is in political and economic turmoil after Russia’s takeover of Crimea and support of separatists in the eastern part of the nation. The government cannot afford inefficiencies, and a new law allows the government led by President Petro Poroshenko to hire foreigners for top ministerial posts. The goal is to curtail corruption and encourage innovation. “While the process has been eased for...

Taliban Calls for Aid in Areas Ravaged by Quake

Mirwais Harooni and Ashraf Hamid October 27, 2015
A 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck a remote parts of northeastern Afghanistan and Pakistan, leaving at least 300 dead with more than 4000 homes and compounds destroyed. Complicating search and rescue are aftershocks, harsh winter weather, mountainous terrain, Afghanistan’s heavy dependence on foreign aid combined with threats of attacks by extremist groups who resent Western influences. “But the...

The Long, Uphill Fight to End Restaurant Tipping

Peter Moskowitz October 26, 2015
New York City reports that international visitors account for about half of all tourism direct spending. One wrinkle for restaurant workers: The United States for the most part stands alone in mandating a low minimum wage for servers - $2.13 nationwide and near $5 in New York – forcing them to rely on customer tips. Peter Moskowitz, writing for Vice, points out that servers can earn anywhere from...

The Silk Road – Old and New

Nayan Chanda October 26, 2015
In the summer of 2011, the US secretary of state called for a “new Silk Road” throughout Asia, investment in trade and infrastructure to counter extremism. China used the term But then China used the term for its own ambitious plans. “President Xi Jinping launched with fanfare an ambitious New Silk Road project on land and sea,” writes Nayan Chanda for Global Asia, a publication of the East Asia...

Russian Ships Near Data Cables Are Too Close for US Comfort

David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt October 26, 2015
Corporations and governments around the globe depend on the internet, and any break in the deep undersea fiber-optic cables that carry most of the world’s communications could disrupt the global economy. US, Norwegian and other militaries officials have are monitoring Russian submarines and ships operating near the cables. The vessels may be searching for vulnerabilities, suggests a report in the...

TPP Is Surprising Vote of Confidence in Globalization

Greg Ip October 23, 2015
Workers in many countries are suspicious about free-trade agreements for reducing job opportunities. The Trans-Pacific Partnership has won approval of 12 nations, and now requires separate legislative approval from each. US approval could be “precarious,” suggests reports Greg Ip for the Wall Street Journal, even though the country may be sacrificing the least. He explains that trade agreement...

Beyond Hype and Pomp

Nayan Chanda October 22, 2015
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among many world leaders traveling to New York in September for the annual UN General Assembly meeting: “his principal mission was to sell India to US multinationals and tech titans, and to win the support of Indians overseas,” explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal’s founding editor in his column for Businessworld. India is a vast, young and developing market...