Home > You are at: News and Analysis New Web Links: Jeffrey Sachs: The African green revolution--Until recently, donors sent only food aid in response to the deepening agricultural crisis. Now they are waking up to the one real solution, Scientific Ameri- can, Apr '08 (Latest World Development Indicators) Graphic: Global energy--Increasingly unsustainable: If govts don't act to change consumption patterns, world energy demand is pro- jected to grow by 55% during 2005-30, with use of coal rising the most in absolute terms, Finance & Dev., Mar-May '08 Coffee/tea break: Jeffery Yablon--Taxing wisdom: A selection of the best observations about taxes, eg: "Tax simplification is compli- cated stuff"; or, "Beware of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collector...and miss," American, Apr '07 Jason Furman: The concept of neutrality in tax policy--The tax sys- tem should strive to be neutral so that decisions are made on their economic merits & not for tax reasons,says Inst proj dir, Testimony-US Sen.Fin.Cmte (courtesy Brookings), 15 Apr 08 (Tax Policy Ctr--Fairer, simpler & more adequate) Security reminder: To ensure that you are in the genuine site and are not the victim of a phishing or 'hijacking' scam, kindly check that at the bottom of the Web page, there is a copyright notice with the name of the Site Owner: "Copyright (c) 2001-2008 Leonardo L. Sta. Romana". Links Posted on Monday: Emerging markets see sharp decline in corporate funding: Capital inflows to the corporate sector in emerging markets have witnessed dramatic declines in recent mos., signifying spillovers from the fund- ing & credit risks in mature markets, IMF Survey, 16 Apr 08 (Help- ing fill global securities data gap) The new economics of outsourcing: Efforts to send IT work any- where but Bangalore are taking on added urgency as costs of doing work in India rise and the dollar sinks, Business Week, 7 Apr 08 Amartya Sen: Poverty and famines - An essay on entitlement and deprivation--The Nobel laureate's book shows that famines happen not only because of lack of food, but because of inequalities in the ways food is distributed, id21, Jul '07 (Book | t-o-cont. | Polit.Econ- omy of Hunger) Posted on Friday: The silent tsunami: Food prices are causing misery and strife around the world. Radical solutions are needed, Economist, 17 Apr 08 Ian Bremmer: Take a big chance on us, say Africa's markets--Zim- babwe's elections appear to confirm a truism: Africa only seems to make intl headlines when disasters strike--a drought, a genocide, or a grossly incompetent govt, says Eurasia Grp pres, Proj Synd (cour- tesy New Straits Times/Msia), 16 Apr 08 (IMF--Reg.Econ Outlook) Jason Furman: The concept of neutrality in tax policy--The tax sys- tem should strive to be neutral so that decisions are made on their economic merits & not for tax reasons,says Inst proj dir, Testimony-US Sen.Fin.Cmte (courtesy Brookings), 15 Apr 08 (Tax Policy Ctr--Fairer, simpler & more adequate) Recent Links: Financial Markets Cmte calls for fundamental reform of fin. markets: There is a widespread view among private market participants that outlook for fin. markets remains uncertain, & they estimate that the time for markets to recover would take 12-18 mos., OECD, 15 Apr 08 (More info [pdf] | IMF--Fin. turmoil's policy lessons) Poorest countries' cereal bill continues to soar, govts try to limit im- pact: The cereal import bill of world's poorest nations is forecast to rise by 56%. Intl cereal prices continued to rise sharply over the past 2 mos. due to steady demand and depleted world reserves, Food & Agric Org, 11 Apr 08 (Graphic-Rising prices of staple grains [scroll]) The quest for rules: Having a concept named after you is as much a mark of honor in economics as it is in other sciences. By this stand- ard, Stanford's John Taylor ('Taylor rule') is among the most hon- ored macroeconomists of his generation, Fin.& Devel, Mar-May '08 Kimberly Elliott: Yank the subsidies on biofuels--US & Europe have responded to rising oil prices, Mideast instability, and climate change by promoting biofuels. But these are now getting much of blame for soaring food prices, says Ctr senior fellow, Ctr Glob Dev, 14 Apr 08 Pain for a staple of Mexico: Corn prices pull everything higher, Chicago Tribune, 13 Apr 08 (Yakima Herald--Wheat market on a wild ride) Disclaimer: The views expressed in the linked articles are those of authors only, or (news) orgs for unsigned ones, and the presence of links to them here does not imply this Web site endorses or shares views expressed in them. Disclaimer: The selection of articles from the Web, links to which are posted here,is the responsibility solely of its Site Owner/Publish- er in a private capacity.Any judgment implied by his selection should not be attributed to any nation, govt, institution, group, or person that he might be associated with. Mouse & wo/man: Tip--To open your article of interest in a new tab (or window), right-click your mouse and select "Open in new tab" (or window). Mouse & wo/man: Tip--A number of our linked articles are in pdf [ie, portable document format], which requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Pls. follow this link to download. _______________________ Food price surge could mean '7 lost years' in poverty fight, Zoellick says: While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs, acc to Bank pres, World Bank, 11 Apr 08 (Rising food prices--Policy optiions) Forum recommends actions to enhance market & institutional resili- ence: The findings in a report presented to G7 fin. ministers & cen- tral bank heads are the product of a collaborative effort of main intl bodies & natl authorities in key financial centers, Financial Stability Forum, 12 Apr 08 Nook & cranny: Joel Waldfogel--Master of the island: Which country is the best colonizer?, asks U Pennsylvania economist, Slate Magazine, 19 Oct 06 Posted: 7-11 Apr 08 Rice forum examines key policy issues: Increasing rice productivity is the only long-term solution that can provide high returns to farm- ers while keeping the price of rice low for consumers, Intl Rice Res Inst, Apr-Jun '08 [pdf] Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland lead the rankings in networked readiness: The latest Global Information Technology Report puts the 3 nations on top, followed by US and Singapore, World Economic Forum-INSEAD, 9 Apr 08 Flight of the black swan: Nassim Taleb's '07 best-seller on improb- able events (whose title describes a bird once thought not to exist, until it was found in Australia in 17th cen.) looks prescient to a Wall Street battered by subprime, Bloomberg Markets, May '08 IMF predicts slower world growth amid serious market crisis: World growth will slow to 3.7% in '08--0.5% lower than forecast in Jan, with US & other industrial economies leading the slowdown. Emerg- ing markets, while not insulated, are likely to weather storm better, acc to latest World Economic Outlook, IMF Survey, 9 Apr 08 Progress toward nutrition, health, education, and other development goals off track: Climate change, high food and oil prices complicate prospects, acc to latest Global Monitoring Report, World Bank-IMF, 8 Apr 08 Era of cheap rice is ending: The makings of market strain are all over: Exporting nations ration sales to satisfy home demand and to curb inflation; farmers hold on to stocks for raised bids; shopkeepers hoard supplies to extract a premium from consumers, who in turn buy more than they need to, Straits Times/Spore (courtesy China Daily), 8 Apr 08 Credit crisis is broadening, IMF warns: The credit deterioration is spreading to other mortgage & corporate debt markets, acc to lastest Global Financial Stability Report. But emerging markets have so far been relatively insulated from the effects, IMF Survey, 8 Apr 08 A Vines & E Sidiropolous: 'Quiet' India could offer lessons to Africa-This week's summit is a modest effort compared with Beijing's Afr jamboree in Nov '06: 14 Afr heads of state & heads of all 8 regional groups, acc to Chatham Hse prog head & S Afr Inst Intl Aff dir, all- Africa, 7 Apr 08 (India-Africa Summit) Joachim von Braun: Rising food prices--What should be done?: In the short run, developing-nation govts should expand safety net pro- grams (like food or income transfers and nutrition programs focused on early childhood) for poorest, writes Inst dir-gen, IFPRI, Apr '08 On markets and complexity: Today's financial crisis is often blamed on a system so complex as to be beyond the comprehension of even its practitioners. We asked Nobel laureate Robert Merton what he thinks of complexity - and whether he thinks markets have too much of it, MIT Technology Review, 2 Apr 08 Competitive Alternatives survey shows Mexico with lowest intl biz costs: The survey, covering 136 cities in 10 nations in N America, Europe, Japan & Australia, shows 5 Mexican cities & San Juan (Puerto Rico) with lowest biz costs. Mexico is the only emerging market in survey, KPMG, 27 Mar 08 [pdf] (Exec sum | Webcast) Andrew Fischer: Reaping Tibet's whirlwind--The mechanisms by which Beijing has been attempting to resolve the 'Tibet Question' through rapid growth has been reinforcing underlying polit. & social tensions due to marginalization of Tibetans, writes LSE economist, Far Eastern Econ Rev, Mar '08 (State Growth and Social Exclusion) Seven questions-What Tibetans want: Columbia U Tibet expert Rob- ert Barnett explains why the most significant action is taking place outside Lhasa & what we can expect the Chinese to do next, Foreign Policy, Mar '08 (Streets with Memories | NPR--Tibet's economy | New rail link) What global price rises mean for food aid: Soaring food prices mean that the world's poorest people will be forced to buy less food or buy cheaper, less nutritious food, resulting in more hunger & less chance of a healthy future, World Food Program, 20 Mar 08 Robert Frank: Income & happiness--An imperfect link: While every- one concedes income is an imperfect measure of well-being, conser- vatives tend to emphasize its virtues while liberals are more likely to stress its shortcomings, says Cornell economist, NYT (free registr reqd), 9 Mar 08 Posted: 31 Mar-4 Apr 08 UK promises new Zimbabwe president �1 bln: UK is working on an unprecedented �1 bln annual intl emergency aid package to rescue the ruined economy. But it would be contingent on a new democrat- ic govt coming to power, Mail & Guardian/S Africa, 4 Apr 08 Long-term, flexible climate policies can cut mitigation costs: An analytic chapter in the World Economic Outlook just out examines the macroeconomic and financial consequences of policies aimed at mitigating climate change, IMF Survey, 3 Apr 08 Lawrence Lindsey: The KISS rule for markets--Just about every politician is demanding an overhaul of financial regulation. But they should remember - keep it simple, and don't foreclose alternatives, says fmr Fed Board member & CEA chair, Wall Street J, 2 Apr 08 Developing Asia to post solid growth in '08 even as major industrial economies slow down: A new report forecasts 7.6% growth, but warns that the risk of an inflation spiral is palpable, AsDB, 2 Apr 08 (World Bank--East Asia & Pacific Update) What goes down must come up -- Global food prices reach new heights: Prices are surging for food commodities worldwide, posing a tough policy challenge for developing nations. Can they protect poor consumers without squelching new opportunities for farmers?, Intl Food Policy Res Inst, Mar '08 Forum discusses current challenges in financial markets: Fin. institu- tions should continue enhancing their disclosures of risk exposures & refining valuation judgements concerning poorly performing assets, acc to senior fin. authorities, Financial Stability Forum, 29 Mar 08 Zimbabwe's inflation rate at 200,000%: The largest currency note - 10 mln dollars - can't buy more than a couple of sodas. Foreign cur- rency runs the economy now, mainly US dollar and S African rand traded on the black market, Miami Herald, 27 Mar 08 (World Bank | UN OCHA) Fighting food inflation in Eastern Europe: Moves are needed now to unlock unused agricultural potential in the region, EBRD, 14 Mar 08 (Conference with FAO | Region & financial turbulence) Study finds cos. adopting China as both growth market & manufac- turing hub are more profitable than others: The era of China as low-cost, manufacturing-for-export base has come to an end, says study by consulting firm and AmCham/Shanghai, Booz Allen Hamilton, 4 Mar 08 Ernesto Zedillo: Carbon prices, not quotas--Govts will have to grap- ple with tough choices under any global emissions reduction strategy, says Yale Globalization Ctr dir., Forbes, 17 Mar 08 Emission impossible?--Putting a price on carbon: Lawmakers are considering laws to control carbon emission through cap-and-trade systems in which govts set emission limits but let firms buy and sell emission rights. Economists tend to prefer emission taxes, which im- pose a levy on fossil fuels based on carbon content, Fed Minneapo- lis, Dec '07 Tricks of the trade: In Asia, the question of whether of not to liber- alize rice trade is a vexing one. If liberalization is to occur at all, it needs to happen gradually & with an understanding of how people -esp the poor - will be affected, Intl Rice Res Inst, Jul-Sep '06 [pdf] Posted: 24-28 Mar 08 Cynics snigger, but Sydney is all set to dim lights at Earth Hour: It's easy to poke fun at a 60-min pause this Sat night when Aust.'s big- gest city and more than 24 cites worldwide are to dim a little. But backers are honest about it being a symbolic gesture, News agencies (courtesy Econ Times/India), 28 Mar 08 (Earth Hour) Asia stability threatened as rice dwindles: World rice supplies are reaching dangerously tight levels as stores of Asia's staple food fall to 25-year lows & govts strive to stabilize domestic markets, London Times, 25 Mar 08 (Monday Morning/Leb.--Soaring cost) Somalia crisis deteriorates, aid agencies warn: Somali and intl aid agencies are unable to respond adequately to the needs, says a joint statement of 39 NGOs, as UN Security Council members meet to discuss crisis, World Vision, 25 Mar 08 Major donors failing Afghanistan due to $10 bln aid shortfall: .Forty percent of aid spending returns to rich nations in corporate profits & consultant costs, acc.to a report from Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief of 94 aid groups, Oxfam, 25 Mar 08 (ACBAR mem-bers) Leonardo Sta. Romana: From 9/11 to Bali to 11-M to 7/7 to...--We started our very first tutorial exercise of what was to become this site on 5 Sep 01. Six days later came 9/11 and the rest, as they say, is history, says its proprietor-publisher, 24 Mar 08 Coping with food price increases in sub-Saharan Africa: The increase in food prices in the region & elsewhere reflects a mixture of tempo- rary and longer-term factors, which will have adverse effects on the poor, IMF Survey, 20 Mar 08 Alan Blinder: The Fed can't do it alone--Psychology has now over- whelmed economics. What started as a serious problem in a little-known corner of the US mortgage market has blossomed into a worldwide financial panic, acc to fmr Fed vice-chair, WashPost (free registr reqd), 18 Mar 08 Martin Feldstein: EU must accept dollar weakness--Europe needs to take steps to stimulate domestic demand to replace the loss of sales and jobs that will otherwise accompany the more competitive dollar. But this is not an easy task, says fmr CEA chair, Project Syndicate (courtesy Taipei Times), 17 Mar 08 China to overtake US by 2025, but Vietnam may be fastest growing emerging market: A new report looks for the first time at 13 more emerging economies that also have the potential to grow significantly faster than industrial nations, PwC, 4 Mar 08 Carmen Reinhart: Monetary policy & state of US economy--Across nations & over the centuries, econ crises of all types follow a similar pattern, says fmr IMF Res Dept No.2, Testimony - House Fin Svcs Cmte, 24 Feb 08 (And Rogoff: Is US subprime fin. crisis so differ- ent?--Summary | Paper [courtesy Harvard]) [pdf] Graft paper: One of the most exciting young economists looks into the econ consequences of tyrannicide, the damaging effects of televi- sion on social cohesion, & the byzantine system of bribery in Indo- nesia, by M Moynihan, American, Jan/Feb '08 A model prophet: Nobel laureate Robert Merton's influence on fi- nance is profound. A profile of the Long-Term Capital Mgmt co-founder and chief science officer of a boutique investment firm, by N Patel, Risk (courtesy Harvard), Jul '07 [pdf] Nook & cranny: Tibetans--Moving forward, holding on: Although today China considers the Dalai Lama to be a troublesome and dis- ruptive figure, there was a time when it saw him as the key to the union of the two nations, National Geographic, Apr '02 Posted: 17-19 Mar 08 J Stiglitz & L Bilmes: The $3 trillion war--After wildly lowballing the cost of the Iraq conflict at a mere $50-60 bln, the administration has been concealing the full economic toll. In an excerpt from their new book, Nobel laureate & budget expert calculate the grim bottom line, Vanity Fair, Apr '08 ; Tunku Varadarajan: A war appraisal too vast to swallow-The book's authors assert knowledge not merely of the cost of the Iraq war but its "true" cost. Of the war's "value", they utter barely a peep, says NYU prof, FT(courtesy Columbia), 3 Mar 08 [pdf] (Bilmes/Stiglitz's reply); and S Davis, K Murphy & R Topel: War in Iraq vs containment--The argument of the Iraq intervention's high cost is deficient because it ignores costs of alternative responses to natl security & humanitarian concerns presented by pre-war Iraqi regime, say U Chicago econo- mists, Amer Enterprise Inst, 21 Feb 06 New technology triggers battle for information from Tibet: Blogs, chatrooms & mobile phones help info about protests to stream out faster, but China is also harnessing tech, as well as fear, to stem the flow, Ag. France-Presse (courtesy ChNewsAsia/Spore), 18 Mar 08 (EuroNews--Tibet's struggle) Paul Krugman: The B word--As the unthinkable becomes the inevit- able, what will the feds do to ensure that they aren't also bailing out the people who got us into this mess?, asks Princeton economist, NYT (via IHTrib), 17 Mar 08 Jeffrey Sachs: Common wealth--One of 10 ideas that are changing the world: The defining challenge of the 21st century will be to face the reality that humanity shares a common fate on a crowded planet, acc to Columbia's Earth Inst dir., Time, 14 Mar 08 Monitoring Iraq oil money: Concerned about the lack of transpar- ency & accountability in Iraq's oil industry, the UN Security Council established the Intl Advisory and Monitoring Board in '03 to oversee the industry, IMF Survey, 10 Mar 08 Nancy Birdsall: Forbes billionaire list, inequality, & intl fin. institu- tions--The Forbes list is a powerful sign of how fast the world is changing in 2 worrying respects: growing inequality in the world, and failure of intl fin institutions to adjust to the increased importance of emerging markets, says Ctr pres, Ctr Global Devel, 7 Mar 08 Resilient emerging markets attract record private capital flows: A new report estimates rise of over $200 bln to $780 bln in '07 & fore- casts flows to remain strong, but with moderation to $730 bln in '08, Inst Intl Finance, 6 Mar 08 (Capital Flows to Emerging Markets) Posted: 10-14 Mar 08 IMF urges action to strengthen global financial system: With the risks of further escalation of crisis rising, decisive action is needed to put the system on firmer footing. The first priority is to reverse the spreading strains in intl financial markets, IMF Survey, 12 Mar 08 First non-US chief economist named by biz research organization: A Dutch national is selected by a biz group which has a third of its member cos. now based outside the US, Conference Board, 12 Mar 08 (Housing sector correction) Sluggish economy on the cusp of recession: Forecasters say econ- omy doesn't meet definition of a 'true' recession, UCLA School of Mgmt, 11 Mar 08 (Housing starts' role) UN's Burma role runs out of steam: This could well be Gambari's last visit, as his proposals to include the opposition in the political process & to have intl observers monitor the referendum are reject- ed, by J Head, BBC News, 10 Mar 08 Andrei Schleifer: The Age of Milton Friedman--Economists remain divided in their assessments of this Age. Two recent books illustrate this division.One (ed.by Fischer & co) endorses free market policies, while another (by Stiglitz & co) rejects them, Harvard, Feb '08[pdf] (extended) (2nd bk's summary) Bradford DeLong: The end of the Age of Friedman--The past 3 dec- ades can be called thus, as the coming to power of Reagan, Thatcher and Deng led to an enormous rise in liberty & prosperity, UC Berke- ley (scroll), 6 Mar 08 Robert Lawrence: Much ado about NAFTA--It's the politics, stupid. When it comes to the US economy, trade has replaced the devil as the reason things go bad, says Harvard economist, Guardian/UK (courtesy Peterson Inst), 7 Mar 08 Jeff Faux: Overhauling NAFTA--Now that we have a consensus, among Dems at least, it's time to consider replacing the agreement with one that works for working people on all sides of our borders, acc to Inst founding pres, Economic Policy Inst, 29 Feb 08 Wanted: One CEO for One Laptop Per Child--After weathering an acrimonious split from Intel & harsh criticism from critics, One Lap- top Per Child is reorganizing, by S Hamm, BusinessWeek, 5 Mar 08 Y Liu & K Kumar: China and India--Different educational paths to- ward prosperity: India focused for the most part on higher educ. for a few, while China largely focused on basic educ. for the masses. What lessons can the developing world draw from these contrasting experiences?, Rand Policy Insight, Feb '08 D Rodrik & A Subramanian: We must curb intl flows of capital--The appropriate role of policy will be as often to stem the tide of capital flows as to encourage them, acc to Harvard & fmr IMF economists, FT, 25 Feb 08 (Letters to ed--Lachman | Johnson/Ostry) (courtesy Peterson Inst, AEI & IMF) (Rodrik's reply) Martin Feldstein: Our economic dilemma--The credit flows needed for economic expansion require confidence in the values of existing fin. assets, but market participants may not have such confidence while the risk of recession hangs over us, says fmr CEA chair, WSJ, 20 Feb 08 All alone in a crowd: A fmr Kennedy School dean uses membership in civic groups to measure social capital. Social capital provides the foundation to society, just as economic & human capital provide the foundation of the economy, Straits Times/Spore (courtesy NBER), 30 Jan 07 [pdf] Posted: 3-7 Mar 08 International Women's Day, 8 Mar 08: "At the '05 World Summit, govts agreed that 'progress for women is progress for all'. Yet the 10-year review revealed a lack of political will as reflected in the lack of resources and insufficient budgetary allocations. That is why the theme for this year is 'Investing in Women & Girls'"--Secy-Gen Ban Ki-moon The recession weapon: Economic downturns have helped determine the results of four US presidential elections in the past five decades, by M Benjamin,. Bloomberg Markets, Apr '08 Gaza - Humanitarian situation worst since 1967: Poverty & unem- ployment up, hospitals suffering 12 hour a day power cuts, water & sewage system close to collapse, Coalition of 8 NGOs, 6 Mar 08 (A Humanitarian Implosion) New travel & tourism report highlights importance of environmental sustainability: Switzerland, Austria & Germany still top the rankings, acc to the 2nd annual Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, World Econ Forum, 4 Mar 08 (Highlights | Rankings [pdf]) Newsroom: Wikileaks champions whistle blowing after US court triumph--A Swiss bank goes after the Web site in court after it post- ed copies of internal documents indicating the co. helped customers launder money illegally, Ag. France-Presse (courtesy myadsl/S Af- rica), 4 Mar 08 (Web site) Robert Shiller: How a bubble stayed under the radar--One great puzzle about the recent housing bubble is why even most experts didn't recognize the bubble as it was forming, says Yale economist, NYT (free registr reqd), 2 Mar 08 Padma Desai: Russia's democratic path--The West underestimates the prospects for the gradual emergence of a democracy in the land of Stalin and Lenin, says Columbia Ctr Transition Econ dtr, News- week, 29 Feb 08; and Marshall Goldman: Putin should follow George Washington--When he vacates the pres.'s office in May, Putin will be the only leader since Stalin to leave office more popular at the end of his term than he was at the beginning, acc to Harv Russia expert, Moscow Times (courtesy Russia Profile), 22 Nov 07 (Oxford U Pr) Asian airports among top performing in worldwide survey: South Korea, Malaysia & Singapore rank in the top 3, based on the results from nearly 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers, Air- ports Council Intl, 25 Feb 08 Boardroom: S Anthony & B Gambill--100 days to disruption:"We've noticed a disturbing pattern. If we check back with a company 60 days after a one-time idea-generation workshop, we often find that nothing has happened. Why?," Forbes, 8 Feb 08 Can Latin America dodge subprime shock?: The region is showing resilience to the US slowdown, but experts are divided on whether it is now less vulnerable to outside shocks, IMF Survey, 5 Feb 08 Nicolas Retsinas: A house divided--Investment or shelter?: For dec- ades Americans viewed their homes as a safe harbor, a place to put down roots. But the last decade saw the rise of housing as an invest- ment opportunity.What comes next?, asks Harv Jt Ctr Housing Stud. dtr, HBS Work Knowl, 23 Jan 08 Forum chair welcomes hedge fund industry initiative on best practice standards: The standards in the report can play a role in helping to enhance resilience in the global industry and mitigate systemic risk, Fin. Stability Forum, 22 Jan 08 (Hedge fund industry grp[pdf] | Exec sum) $100 oil--Moving deeper into uncharted territory: The high oil price of 1980 was at the start of the worst 3-year period of econ growth of the past 4 decades. For the oil price to potentially play a similar role now, prices would have to average from $100 to $120 for 6 mos. to a year, Camb Engy Res Assoc, 3 Jan 08 New prescription for poverty: According to the World Bank, close to one billion people around the world live on less than a dollar a day. This despite decades of well-meaning development programs.A team of economists at MIT says it's time for a new approach, by DBaron, Public Radio Intl, 19 Jun 07 Posted: 25-29 Feb 08 The Wild, Wild East--Beyond the Iraqi oil boom: Last Aug, the Kurdistan Regional Govt defied Baghdad and passed its own statute setting out the terms by which its oil fields will be developed. That act triggered an oil rush, Conde Nast Portfolio, Mar '08 (w/ link to: Boomtown, Iraq) Moises Naim: Can the world afford a middle class?--The middle class in poor nations is fastest-growing segment of world's popula- tion. While this is good news, it also means humanity will have to adjust to unprecedented pressures, Foreign Policy, Mar/Apr '08 New report shows London still No1 globally: A report commissioned by the City of Lond. Corp says the 5 leading intl global financial cen- ters are Lond, NY, Hong Kong, Singapore and Zurich, Global Finan- cial Centers Index, 28 Feb 08 (Taxation and Fin Svcs Biz Location) Weak and failed states--Who they are, why they matter: The percep- tion of these states changed after 9/11, when the 2nd-poorest nation in the world became the foundation for the most significant strike ever on US territory, Brookings/Ctr for Global Development, 26 Feb 08 (Index of State Weakness) Coffee/tea break: Letter from North Korea--The flight from Beijing lasted only one hr twelve mins, but it took us into a different world. There are 260 of us--musicians from NY Philharmonic, staff, board members, patrons & 60 from media, by B Rosen, Huffington Post, 25 Feb 08 New leader to benchmark London for financial growth: Realizing that fin. industry must serve as next growth engine besides manufac- turing amid fast-ageing society, Pres Lee promises CEOs he would support eliminating unwanted barriers, Korea Times, 25 Feb 08 (Fin. benchmark | Fin. hub initiative) Allan Meltzer: Why the crisis?--Finding scapegoats and passing new legislation may satisfy the public, but it will do nothing to prevent a similar crisis a few years from now.The right question to ask is: what incentives encouraged traders & firms to buy & sell subprime mort- gages?, American Mag, 20 Feb 08 R McKinnon & S Hanke: A rescue plan for the dollar--It's time for Bush administration to put some teeth in its 'strong' dollar rhetoric by encouraging a coordinated,joint intervention by leading central banks to strengthen & put a floor under the dollar, Wall St J (courtesy Cato Inst), 27 Dec 07 India's record-high capital inflows pose policy challenge: Its econ- omy's recent stellar performance is attracting large capital inflows. Although a boon, the inflows also complicate monetary & exchange rate policies, IMF Survey, 4 Feb 08 Russia and Europe: The West views the 90's as a time of a liberal economy & democracy. But many Russians view it as a time when a small group of people cheated the nation - some oligarchs & Western banks & advisors, EBRD, 23 Jan 08 (Russia in the world) (OECD--Investing | More info) Kenneth Rogoff: Dog days for super dollar--"UC Berkeley's Obst-feld and I have been warning for some time that without pro-active policy adjustments, the dollar is vulnerable to a sharp collapse," Proj Syndicate (courtesy Daily Times/Pakistan), 19 Dec 07 Michael Porter: Business and innovation-Technology clusters (letter to editor): Cluster-policy thinking is very different from 'industrial-policy' thinking, though many lump the two together, Economist [scroll], 15 Nov 07 (Fading luster of clusters) Henry Rowen: The curious life of clusters--Market forces create them (with Silicon Valley as prime example), but govts often like to accelerate process. That implies bureaucrats know how to do so, Far Eastern Econ Rev (Summary | Full text), Jul '07 [courtesy Insead & Stanford] (Reuters--Spore biotech | 'Dolly'-creator) Technology and innovation in financial services--Scenarios to 2020: Fin. services' transformation is examined, with 3 scenarios -'Global Ivy League', 'Next Frontier' and 'Innovation Islands'- exploring how globalization and innovation will reshape sector, WEForum, 24 Jun 07 (Exec sum, pdf, 1.3Mb) Benjamin Olken: The problem of corruption--Despite the importance of the problem, there is relatively little evidence, and hence little con- sensus, on how to best fight it, Boston Rev, Mar/Apr '07 (Author's field photos--One | Two) {Spark-courtesy NYT} Posted: 18-22 Feb 08 South American foreign ministers meet counterparts from Arab world: Argentina hosts more than 30 nations, which are meeting to follow up on a '05 Brazil summit, AP, 21 Feb 08 (Nations pledge trade, cooperation) [courtesy Daily News/Egypt & pr-inside/Austria] World Bank selects two companies for program to boost investment in emerging market bonds: To promote institutional investment in local currency bonds of emerging markets, Bank announces selection of invest. firm Pimco and data/index provider Markit, Intl Fin Corp, 19 Feb 08 (Gemloc) Global investor confidence index rises in Feb: North American index rises but European index falls, with Asia-Pacific index treading water and barely rising, State Street Global Markets, 19 Feb 08 (Info, incl FAQ) Ban on Suu Kyi shatters hopes for Myanmar polls, say analysts: After stating draft constitution is done, foreign minister says it would bar detained leader from planned elections, Ag.France-Presse (cour- tesy Turkish Press), 19 Feb 08 (Crisis Grp--After the crackdown) Pakistani stocks open strong after peaceful polls: Stocks open higher after an election far less violent than feared, but dealers say likely formation of parliament hostile to Musharraf could prove negative, Reuters, 19 Feb 08 (Pak. investors should be 'overweight') Jeremy Siegel: Is a collapse in the cards?--It's a myth that since al- most all stock markets went up and down in unison during this crisis, intl diverification is no longer an effective strategy for investors, Time, 14 Feb 08 Development Cooperation Report--A scorecard of aid successes and failures: Has development aid improved the lives of people living in developing nations over the past 5 years?, OECD, 6 Feb 08 (Report) Diana Farrell: Gulf states must use oil wealth wisely--Oil revenues of six Gulf states will net up to $6.2 trillion in profits over next 14 years, or more than twice UK economy today or 4 times total profits of Global Fortune 500 cos. combined, Business Week, 5 Feb 08 Nathan Nunn: Slave trade and African underdevelopment--Recent research suggests that without slave trades, 72% of Africa's income gap with the rest of world would not exist today, VoxEU, 8 Dec 07 (Author) {Spark-courtesy WSJ} US agencies face competing priorities in enforcing embargo on Cuba: The 48-year embargo aims to deny resources to regime. Since '01, agencies have changed rules in response to new laws. Now, several factors hinder its enforcement, Govt Accountability Ofc, 30 Nov 07 (US democracy assistance for Cuba needs better oversight) Jeffrey Sachs: Ending malaria deaths in Africa--One of the world's worst killers can be stopped soon if we make the investment, Scientific America, Oct '07 James Poterba: Tax reform--'The pres.'s tax panel considered 3 mo- tives for reform: simplifying tax code, making distribution of tax bur- dens fairer, & promoting long-term econ growth. In practice, these 3 objectives are often in conflict,' Sen. Fin. Cmte testimony, Aug '06 [pdf] (New NBER pres) Kosovo--Assessment of Monetary & Fin. Systems Dept's technical assistance program: This aid has been provided under special cir- cumstances since it is not member of IMF or World Bank, IMF, Jun '06 (Toward Growth and Devel. in Kosovo, w/ overview) [pdf] Nook & cranny: Can one serve the public & survive public service? --Whistleblowing is a difficult road not only professionally, but also personally, with many losing their jobs & careers. 3 nonprofits join forces to help govt employees with a how-to guide, Accountability Grps, Jun '05 (w/ link to ch 1) << Home Complete archive >> Copyright (c) 2001-2008 Leonardo L. Sta. Romana All rights reserved. |
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