The Economics of Demographics
Finance and Development Sep/Nov 2006
Provides a detailed look at how the biggest demographic upheaval in history is affecting global development. The issue explores demographic change and the effects of population aging from a variety of angles, including pensions, health care, financial markets, and migration, and looks specifically at the impact in Europe and Asia. Picture This looks at global demographic trends, while Back to Basics explains the concept of the demographic dividend. Country Focus spotlights Kazakhstan, while People in Economics profiles Nobel prize winner Robert Mundell. IMF Economic Counsellor Raghuram Rajan argues for further change in India's style of government in his column, Straight Talk.
A Bridge Too Far
Peter J. Wallison (AEI) Nov 2006
The Basel II Bank Capital Accord.
EU notes first submissions to US Boeing-Airbus panel in Geneva
EU DGT Nov 2006
The US have taken the procedural step of making the first submissions to its WTO panel on supports to Airbus. EU Trade spokesman Peter Power said: "The EU has always sought to resolve the aircraft dispute through negotiation rather than litigation, but regrettably, we have been frustrated in this by the US and Boeing.
Heading off global overheating
IHT Nov 3, 2006
The message of the recent British study of climate change is clear: Failure to commit substantial resources now will exact huge penalties for the world economy later on.
China aims to increase its clout in Africa
IHT Nov 3, 2006
Billboards show elephants and giraffes stalking the savanna. Traffic has been curtailed, construction sites shut down and the sky rendered tantalizingly, if temporarily, blue. Beijing has put on its best face to court Africa, "the land of myth and miracles," as official posters call it.
The Doha Marathon
Pascal Lamy (WSJ) Nov 3, 2006
Why abandon the race in the last mile?
More bank for the bucks
IHT Nov 4, 2006
Unless the billions of dollars in remittances are banked, money that could fight poverty is not being used to its fullest potential.
Africa nations and China sign $1.9 billion in deals
IHT Nov 6, 2006
China and African nations reached 16 trade and investment deals valued at $1.9 billion on Sunday, as Beijing extended its efforts to create a broad economic and diplomatic partnership with the resource-rich continent.
How to count the viewers without borders?
IHT Nov 6, 2006
To globe-trotting television viewers, the proliferation of international channels like CNBC and Eurosport may seem like a powerful demonstration of how the world is shrinking. But for anyone who wants to know how many people actually tune in to these channels, different countries can seem as far apart as ever.
China's Trillion-Dollar Reserves
Fan Gang (WSJ) Nov 6, 2006
Don't blame the trade surplus with America.
Globalization and Global Governance
Pascal Lamy (Globalist) Nov 7, 2006
When in history did global governance first become an important issue?
China Vows To Ramp Up Aid, Investment, Trade With Africa
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 37 Nov 8, 2006
Political and business leaders from China and several African countries vowed to expand trade and investment flows, as well as other forms of bilateral cooperation, during a 4-5 November summit in Beijing.
WTO Members Approve Vietnam's Accession
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 37 Nov 8, 2006
WTO Members on 7 November formally approved Vietnam's membership in the global trade body, bringing to an end a process that had lasted over 11 years.
Informal Discussions On Agriculture Continue, Though WTO Talks Remain Suspended
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 37 Nov 8, 2006
Formal trade negotiations at the WTO remain frozen as they have been since late July when Members proved unable to agree on farm subsidy and tariff cuts. Nonetheless, Geneva-based negotiators say that delegations continue to meet informally.
Towards Global Governance
Pascal Lamy (Globalist) Nov 8, 2006
Is the World Trade Organization a model of effective global governance?
Still Ready to Talk
Susan C. Schwab (WSJ) Nov 9, 2006
President Bush is committed to Doha. But the U.S. can't do all the heavy lifting alone.
China: Scapegoat or Sputnik
Thomas L. Friedman (NYT) Nov 10, 2006
As I was saying, Mr. Rove, Americans aren’t as stupid as you think. Now that we’ve settled that, and now that we’ve had an election that clarified which country is most important in shaping U.S. politics in 2006 — Iraq — I’ve come to visit the country that’s most likely to shape U.S. politics in 2008: China.
Tipping Point for Trade
WP Nov 11, 2006
The architect built his house of straw. The foundation -- the Republican base -- may have retained its brick-like solidity in support of its candidates Tuesday, just as Karl Rove predicted. But the house itself -- and the House itself -- was blown to smithereens, with massive shifts among moderate and independent voters to the Democratic column. And for all the talk of coming Democratic dissonance within their expanded congressional delegations, it's clear that on economic policy, a new progressive center has formed.
The Corporate End Run
NYT Nov 12, 2006
When corporate America feels the pinch from global competition, it runs to the Bush administration for rule changes.
Facing Reality on Europe's Immigrants
David C. Unger (NYT) Nov 12, 2006
Despite its shortcomings, Germany's new approach to its foreign-born or foreign-descended residents contrasts favorably with that of neighboring France.
China's economy
Economist Nov 13, 2006
China wants higher-quality foreign investment.
G.O.P. House Leaders Withdraw Vietnam Trade Bill
NYT Nov 14, 2006
The failure of the bill was a deep disappointment and embarrassment for President Bush on the eve of his trip to Vietnam this week.
Democrats and Trade
WSJ Nov 15, 2006
Their choice: Helping the poor, or the AFL-CIO.
Milton Friedman, Free-Market Theorist, Dies at 94
NYT Nov 17, 2006
Milton Friedman was the grandmaster of free-market economic theory in the postwar era.
Why Money Matters
Milton Friedman (WSJ) Nov 17, 2006
Three episodes in a major natural experiment in monetary policy.
Don't Close the Door on Free Trade in the Andes
Mary Anastasia O'Grady (WSJ) Nov 17, 2006
Killing the Peru FTA is dumb. Killing the Colombia FTA is dumber.
UN conference sets date for review of greenhouse emissions
IHT Nov 18, 2006
More than 180 countries agreed to review the Kyoto Protocol by 2008 after conceding that developing economies could not be forced to immediately reduce emissions.
Protectionist Party?
WSJ Nov 18, 2006
Democrats were once free traders, and could be again.
Breaking The Trade Deadlock
WP Nov 20, 2006
The trick in the new era of divided government is to find deadlock-breakers: issues that advance the agendas of both sides as well as the interests of the country.
Protection Racket
Pete Du Pont (WSJ) Nov 22, 2006
Free trade is a key to prosperity. Why do Democrats fight it?
Doha Round: Lamy Gives Green Light To 'De Facto' Resumption Of Geneva Talks
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 39 Nov 22, 2006
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy on 16 November gave Geneva-based trade diplomats the 'green light' to start informal discussions on all issues in the stalled Doha Round talks. He told an informal heads of delegation gathering that "fully-fledged" negotiations, in contrast, would remain impossible until Members came forward with softened bargaining positions. One negotiator said that talks at WTO headquarters had now resumed "in a de facto sense."
Nairobi Climate Meeting Focuses On Future Climate Action, Adaptation Needs
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 39 Nov 22, 2006
Amid rising greenhouse gas emissions and a heightened focus on the economic costs of global warming, a two-week long UN climate change conference in Nairobi left both government delegates and civil society representatives with the feeling that they had accomplished little.
Long March
WP Nov 24, 2006
A quarter-century after the discovery of AIDS, the struggle against it continues.
Russia may risk WTO entry with EU meat ban
IHT Nov 25, 2006
The EU trade commissioner, Peter Mandelson, warned that several of the 25 EU member states were growing weary of Russia's trade tactics and could move to block its WTO bid.
Dollar Falls Sharply Against Euro and Pound
NYT Nov 25, 2006
The fall highlighted concerns about weakness in the U.S. economy as economies abroad continue to expand.
Foreign Aid, Revised
NYT Nov 25, 2006
If the administration will not restore a sensible balance to foreign aid, the new Congress should.
The Case for Free Trade
Gordon Brown & Hank Paulson (WSJ) Nov 27, 2006
The U.S. and Europe must take the lead in rescuing the Doha round.
China's Development Dilemmas
Ian Holliday (WSJ) Nov 27, 2006
Beijing aims for a pan-East Asian trading zone.
As euro pushes higher, European finance ministers hold steady
IHT Nov 29, 2006
Ministers struck a relaxed tone as the euro traded above $1.32 for the first time in a year and a half.
The Devaluationists
WSJ Nov 29, 2006
The dollar's fate is very much in our own hands.
Back to Beijing
WP Nov 29, 2006
If only the Chinese would shop (almost) like Americans.
EU may suspend key areas of talks with Turkey
IHT Nov 30, 2006
The enlargement commissioner says Turkey failed to keep its promise to open up trade with Cyprus, forcing the European Commission to recommending freezing about a quarter of the negotiation program.
Germany is leading a productivity renaissance in Europe
IHT Nov 30, 2006
As Europe ends 2006 staring down the barrel of a euro that has surged back above $1.30, the productivity gains will also allow companies to stay competitive in markets abroad even when currencies rise.
Debate over effectiveness of cheap computers for the poor
IHT Nov 30, 2006
As the One Laptop Per Child program finishes a prototype, critics question their use in education.
Doha Round Discussions Intensifying In Geneva
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 40 Nov 29, 2006
Geneva-based trade diplomats have stepped up the pace of talks at the WTO after receiving the green light from Director-General Pascal Lamy to resume discussions on all issues in the troubled Doha Round negotiations. The chairs of most of the negotiating groups have been consulting with delegations to try to determine how best to proceed. However, no path out of the impasse in the talks has become visible, as Members have not explicitly come forward with changed bargaining positions.
ACP Lawmakers Unhappy With EPA Talks, As Brussels Turns Down Explicit Aid Link
BRIDGES Weekly Trade News Digest - Vol. 10, Number 40 Nov 29, 2006
Economic partnership agreement (EPA) negotiations were high on the agenda at a meeting of lawmakers from the European Parliament and African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries in Barbados from 20-23 November. Meanwhile, leaked documents suggest that Brussels is rejecting ACP demands to include detailed aid promises in the text of a future EPA accord.
The falling dollar
Economist Nov 30, 2006
A further drop is likely as the American economy slows.