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What China Has Been Building in the South China Sea

August 6, 2015
Sections of the South China Sea are under dispute. After literally shoring up some of its claims by expanding reefs and islets, China has announced an end to the reclamation work. “Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taiwan have all expanded islands in the Spratlys as well, but at nowhere near...

“Dumped in Florida”: Bradenton Herald

April 3, 2020
Cruise ships with passengers and crew reporting symptoms of COVID-19 struggle to dock at ports during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The Zaandam, operated by Carnival Corporation’s Holland America Line, has seen four passengers die and at least two test positive for COVID-19,” reports the Brandenton...

Reverse Coupling

October 11, 2010
As the economies of Brazil, India and China continue fast-paced growth, many economists mull whether they have decoupled from traditional Western markets mired in debt, unemployment and banking crises – and are perhaps even capable of boosting the developed world. Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor,...

Gaza Explosions Reverberate in Europe

January 23, 2009
Israel invaded Gaza and waged war for 22 days, in response to Hamas firing a nonstop barrage of rockets over the border and refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist: 13 Israelis and 1,300 Palestinians died, and more than 50,000 people were left homeless. A tenuous ceasefire is in place, but...

The China Barrier

June 26, 2009
In the world of ideas, globalization inhabits a happy realm where goods, capital, and people flow freely, guided by the over-arching force of utility maximization. But the real world is much more jagged. Labor flows face consistently higher friction than idealized. And capital, when supplied by a...

Let Them Eat Bread

April 4, 2011
Many factors are at play in the ongoing Middle East protests, and while bread often goes unmentioned, Annia Ciezadlo places food prices in the spotlight. Governments in the Middle East import grain and then subsidize bread for their populations. The inexpensive bread has artificially sustained the...

Venezuela’s Blackout: New York Times

March 12, 2019
Venezuela, with the world’s largest oil reserves, struggles to deliver power to most of its citizens. The four-day blackout combined with political divisions has triggered protests, looting, economic hardship and anger in the country of 32 million people. “The blackout is the latest crisis to...

Venezuela Unrest Shakes Up Opposition

February 28, 2014
Protesters and opposition candidates blast Venezuela for problems listed by the US Central Intelligence Agency: “a weakening of democratic institutions, political polarization, a politicized military, rampant violent crime, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and...
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