May
6
2013

Written by:
Abhishek Kumar

Democracy in Asia-Pacific

The fragile nature of democratic governance in today’s Asia-Pacific, one of the most complex and growing areas of the world, requires continued support and cooperation. More people than ever have the opportunity to elect their leaders, but in many cases, the actions of the leaders do not reflect the public’s needs. In this region, many democracies are of a loose nature that leaves much room for political and economic manipulation by powerful elites. In effect, the poor and the marginalized fail to reap the benefits of an effective government. But the stage set for democracy widely varies from country to country: on one side of the spectrum, we see relatively effective democracies functioning in both Australia and Japan, while on the other hand, we see the weak systems established in Pakistan and Mongolia. These democratic institutions differ substantially from the Western world in political structure, ideological values, and leadership practices.

May
6
2013

Written by:
Judy Jansen

EU vs. China: Allegations of Unfair Trade Practices and Dumping of Solar PV Panels (By Naman Sanghvi)

The European Union is currently embroiled in a high-stakes dispute with China over alleged dumping of “solar PV panels” (solar panels and cells) by Chinese manufacturers into EU markets.

EU vs. China:

Apr
16
2013

Written by:
Eric Rehe

Dollar Weakens on Tepid Jobs Growth (By Marcus Holland)

Dollar Weakens on Tepid Jobs Growth
The Euro continued to gain some traction as weaker than expected jobs data released in the US changed the dynamic of the interest rate differential. Despite recent weakness in the Euro Zone, market participants concentrated on the potential for the US Federal Reserve, who could increase the volume of their current quantitative easing program on the heels of last Friday’s worse than expected non-farm payroll report.
Interest rates in the US headed lower relative to European rates after the Department of Labor in the US released a worse than expected payroll report. The interest rate differential which is the difference between US and European short term interest rates is generally considered a driving factor behind the medium term direction of a currency pair. The actual direction of a currency and the movement of the inter-country interest rate spread are highly correlated which means they tend to move in tandem.

Feb
4
2013

Written by:
Antoine Kerck

Why the British Can't Stand the EU

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced last week that if he is reelected, the United Kingdom will hold a referendum by 2017 about whether the United Kingdom will remain in the European Union. A recent poll suggests that if the vote was held today, the country would, by a small margin, be in favor of leaving the EU altogether. This article will not get bogged down attempting to trawl through the endless pros and cons of the UK’s EU membership, or evaluate whether David Cameron’s announcement was out of line, but rather explain why the British people are so much more anti-Europe than their fellow Europeans. It is of course natural, even expected, that citizens of any EU member nation have certain reservations about their nation committing to a project with as many problems as the EU, and indeed a 2010 European Commission survey determined that only 42% of Europeans firmly ‘trust’ the EU.

Dec
6
2012

Written by:
Dominic Mhiripiri

Three Key Points from World Bank’s Chief Economist

I recently had the privilege of not only attending a two-part on-campus lecture by Kaushik Basu, but also, of chatting with him for a quarter of an hour following his second talk. Basu, a Cornell University academic, is currently the chief economist and a senior vice president at the World Bank, and was at Brown to deliver the inaugural O.P. Jindal Lecture at the Watson Institute for International Studies, as part of my school’s India Initiative program.

A former advisor to the government of India, Basu spoke about the Asian giant’s post-colonial economic history, and the country's relationship with the crisis-ridden economies of Europe and the United States. As a growing aficionado of lists, I decided to distill a few of the interesting things I gleaned from this experience into 3 points, below:

1. If you’re not an expert in the field, thou shalt not “BS”

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