Like many other African countries, Mozambique has enormous potential, but there are many gaps to fill. Led by its natural resources, the economy has been booming with real GDP growth reaching 7.4 percent in 2012, seven percent in 2013 and is predicted to reach 8.5 percent between 2014–16, according to the World Bank. London based […]
One of the year’s most urgent policy questions—whether or not the U.S. should export oil–is finally garnering attention in Washington as both sides of the U.S. oil export debate make their case. The United States began safeguarding domestically produced oil after the 1973 Arab oil embargo, which caused supply disruptions and price spikes in the […]
Although last week’s Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Norway focused on the activities of “humans in the Arctic,” from sleeping habits to snowmobile accidents in Svalbard, top politicians still made headline appearances. The Prime Minister of Norway, along with Greenland’s Prime Minister and Finland’s Foreign Minister, spoke on Tuesday, the second day of the conference. […]
Oil and gas. Uranium and rare earth metals. Cod and shrimp. Reindeer and seal pelts. These things constitute the bulk of discussions about Arctic resources, yet there’s one resource that’s overlooked: time. At the Arctic Circle summit in Reykjavik earlier in October, economist and Sami reindeer herder Anders Johansen Eira gave a talk, “The Challenges of […]
by Hristiana Grozdanova & Anna Maria Barcikowska When both sides of the Atlantic face fiscal and macroeconomic challenges at home and around the globe, it seems like the only way to overcome to shortcomings is to stay united. Looking back at the history of the European Union, one could see that in the somber times it […]
By Jim Wynn Unemployment is currently a burning issue in this country as it is across the globe. Discussions about how best to create jobs feed our headline news fuel fierce political debate and will be a key factor in determining the outcome of our presidential election in November. Although unemployment in the US has fallen […]
With the United States and NATO making plans to draw down most of their troops over the next few years, Afghanistan faces a precarious future. While the military situation has improved, insurgency continues; the government’s authority extends little beyond the capital; foreign aid accounts for 80 percent of the national budget; and the country’s principal cash […]
They may no longer be on the opposites side of the Cold War, but Russians and Americans still see the world in opposite ways. While even most blue collar Americans believe they are middle class, 45% of Russians consider themselves to be poor, according to Svetlana Kononova’s piece in Russia Profile, which relies on new […]
While researching my last post about the record-high poverty rate in Japan, I came across a title for a 2008 BBC documentary entitled Japan: A Story of Love and Hate. The film follows a 58-year-old postal worker living on the poverty line. The film asks how the quality of life could be so miserable in […]
According to numbers released by the Welfare Ministry Tuesday, Japan’s poverty rate hit a record high of 16.0 percent in 2009, up 0.3 percent from 2006. The increase in the number of people over 65 and the number of nonregular employees with less income was cited as the cause of the increase. Relative poverty was […]
The IMF has put forward a new paper on new International Evidence on Expansionary Austerity (which Krugman as well as Herdentrieb linked to). From the abstract: This paper investigates the short-term effects of fiscal consolidation on economic activity in OECD economies. We examine the historical record, including Budget Speeches and IMF documents, to identify changes […]
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is credited with facilitating India’s economic liberalization in 1991, is currently under pressure over concerns of price rise and increasing inflation. Thanks to the economic reforms of the 1990s a color television in India is much cheaper today than it was two decades ago. However, the cost of food items […]
Overview Brazil has long seemed poised to join China, Germany and the US as one of the few nations with influence that stretches far beyond its borders. Years from now, many historians may look back on 2010 as the year that Brazil at last turned the corner in its ascent as a global power. Brazil’s […]
As the recession hit; the jobless rates soared to 10% and more, banks at the brink of failing, stock exchange plummeted, and economy was left paralyzed. All this happened in United States, which sparked a global recession, bringing down Europe and Asia along with it. This global recession was worst on developing nations, as they […]
President Asif Ali Zardari, in a meeting with Director of US National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, urged US to assist Pakistan in its own civilian nuclear technology deal to help overcome its dire energy needs. President had suggested that this kind of deal will not only bridge the trust deficit between the two countries, but […]