Economics & Business Archive

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and host Peter Dörrie discuss global violence and discrimination against women, the political crisis in Guinea-Bissau, and the need to give Syrian refugees the right to work. For the Report, Ernest Nti Acheampong joins us to talk about how young entrepreneurs are driving economic growth in Africa. Listen: Download: MP3Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Relevant Articles on WPR: The World Needs a Peace Treaty Between Men and Women WPR Global Insider Interview Series on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Deal to End Guinea-Bissau’s Deadlock Instead Stokes Risk of Another Coup Many […]

From protectionist rhetoric in the U.S. presidential campaign and the Brexit referendum to worldwide protests against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), free trade is in a political rut. Concerns about income inequality, job loss and capital flight have deepened the sentiment that globalized trade benefits elites at the expense of everyday citizens. But that’s not necessarily the case. World Politics Review’s 10-article compilation helps to contextualize the debate. The following articles are free for non-subscribers until Oct. 13. The Case For and Against Free Trade Liberalized Trade Is Under Attack. Can It Be Saved? […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on a range of countries’ space priorities and programs. The head of Iran’s space agency announced plans last month to launch three satellites into orbit within the next year: the Doutsi earth-observation satellite, the Tolou remote sensing satellite and the Aat Sat telecommunications satellite. In an email interview, John B. Sheldon, the chairman and president of ThorGroup GmbH, a Swiss-based consulting company, and publisher and editor of SpaceWatch Middle East, discusses Iran’s space program. WPR: What are Iran’s space capabilities, in terms of its space-industrial complex, and what are […]

When Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton took the stage on Monday night for their first presidential debate, there was one topic on which their positions were not diametrically opposed: trade. That’s not to say they agreed. But in a debate rife with sharp disagreements on just about every issue, the matter of U.S. trade agreements with other countries was one in which they both argued there is room for change. Skepticism about the benefits of free trade is not unique to the United States. Throughout the developed world, the rise of populist politicians has changed the tone of the discussion […]

Following meetings with Ukrainian officials in Kiev early this month, the vice president of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic, who holds the energy portfolio for the EU as a whole, laid out his vision for how the often contentious relationship between Ukraine, Russia and the EU ought to be structured. “Russia as an exporter, Ukraine as a transit country and the EU as the main importer,” he said. This pithy formulation also sums up Europe’s geo-economic approach for managing the Ukraine conflict. Geopolitical strategies to keep the peace appear to be breaking down in Ukraine. An uptick in clashes and […]

NAIROBI, Kenya—When U.S. President Barack Obama attended the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, in July 2015, it helped place Africa in the global limelight as an emerging entrepreneurship hub. At the event, global leaders, business executives, mentors, young entrepreneurs and high-level government officials reiterated the crucial role of entrepreneurship in economic development, creating new jobs, driving technological innovations and enhancing economic growth. Many speakers specifically called for African governments to put in place strategies to support the growth of enterprises. Africa is already taking advantage of its youth demographic dividend to push young entrepreneurs to contribute to the continent’s […]

Corruption and falling commodities prices have many in Suriname worried that their country is turning into the next Venezuela. Businesses are closing; inflation is rising; and the economy is predicted to contract by 2 percent this year. In an email interview, Robert Looney, distinguished professor in the department of national security affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School, discusses the economic crisis in Suriname. WPR: What factors are behind the recent economic turmoil in Suriname? Robert Looney: Suriname’s economy has never been able to break out of the boom-and-bust cycle that afflicts many resource-producing developing countries. The country is almost totally […]

As a U.S. presidential candidate in 2008, Barack Obama had strong reservations about free trade. Back then, he referred to the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, as “unfair” and pledged to renegotiate the deal. But as president, Obama has adopted the traditional bipartisan orthodoxy in Washington on free trade. What’s more, his administration has aggressively pursued two mega-regional trade initiatives: the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with 12 Pacific Rim countries and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the European Union. As the Obama administration draws to a close, though, free trade has become a poisonous issue in […]

In this week’s Trend Lines podcast, WPR’s editor-in-chief, Judah Grunstein, and host Peter Dörrie discuss Central America’s “other” migrant crisis, the United States’ expanding military engagement across Africa, and reforming how the World Health Organization is financed. For the Report, Eric Farnsworth joins us to explore the limits of U.S. President Barack Obama’s pragmatic approach to Latin America. Listen:Download: MP3Subscribe: iTunes | RSS Relevant Articles on WPR: As New Migrant Streams Look North, Central America’s Crisis Moves South As U.S. Military Assistance in Africa Grows, How Can It Mitigate the Risks? The Pitfalls of the Pentagon Taking the Lead on […]

Technology that will have a profound, potentially revolutionary impact on the U.S. military is on the way. Some innovations—like new materials, new fuels, automation, autonomy, new manufacturing methods, 3-D printing and better energy storage—will simply make military machines faster, lighter, smarter, cheaper and more accurate. But other technologies have the potential to change and enhance humans themselves. “We want our warfighters to be made stronger, more aware, more durable, more maneuverable in different environments,” ethicist Patrick Lin wrote in the Atlantic in 2012. Neuroscience, biotechnology, nanotechnology, robotics, artificial intelligence and new drugs may pave the way for dramatic human enhancements, […]

Protesters have taken to the streets in Chile to demand that the country’s pension system, which was privatized in 1981 during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, be reformed or scrapped all together. In an email interview, Jennifer Pribble, an associate professor of political science and international studies at the University of Richmond, discusses Chile’s pension system and the prospects for its reform. WPR: How is Chile’s pension system currently organized, and what problems is it now facing? Jennifer Pribble: In 1981, during Pinochet’s dictatorship, Chile privatized its pension system, eliminating the pay-as-you-go system for all except the military. Under the […]

Libya’s crude oil production has increased by more than 70 percent since August, to 450,000 barrels per day, as several oil fields resumed output and the port of Ras Lanuf reopened for the first time since 2014. In an email interview, Matthew Reed, the vice president of Foreign Reports, Inc., a Washington-based consulting firm focused on Middle East politics and world oil markets, discusses Libya’s oil industry. WPR: What is the state of Libya’s oil industry and its infrastructure? Matthew Reed: Libya’s oil sector is making a tenuous comeback. Production jumped to 450,000 barrels per day following the reopening of […]

At his first Summit of the Americas, in Trinidad and Tobago in 2009, President Barack Obama laid out a vision for U.S. relations in the hemisphere based on partnership and a commitment to pursuing policies that aligned the United States with the needs and interests of the region’s people, particularly those living in its barrios and favelas. Gone would be the days of overt attempts by Washington to influence Latin America’s political direction or to promote a particular economic course. Countries would decide for themselves which path to pursue, and the United States would cooperate where possible based on mutual […]

Over the past few years, Mongolia’s once vibrant and high-growth economy, buoyed by mineral riches, has languished to the point that there are some legitimate concerns that the country is on its way to bankruptcy. The Mongolian currency, the tugrik, has plunged nearly 15 percent since the beginning of this year against the U.S. dollar. Foreign direct investment, once bountiful and rapidly growing, has completely evaporated. The economy is contracting; unemployment is spiking; and deflationary trends are continuing. Combined, that makes for a cocktail of trouble for the new government in Ulaanbaatar that has been in office since elections in […]

Last Wednesday, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker gave his annual State of the Union address after one of the most difficult years in the EU’s history. Between the ongoing migrant crisis, the continued rise of populism, a series of terrorist attacks and Brexit, there are many reasons to conclude that the EU is in dire straits. “Let us all be very honest in our diagnosis. Our European Union is, at least in part, in an existential crisis,” Juncker stated in opening his speech. “Never before have I seen so much fragmentation, and so little […]

Since August, there have been growing rumors about an oil production freeze by major oil producers. The deal might be concluded on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26 to 28, where the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will hold an informal gathering along with other producer countries, such as Russia. Seasoned oil market watchers will have a strong feeling of déjà vu. Back in April, members of OPEC and Russia failed to hammer out an agreement to limit oil production at a meeting in Doha. The talks collapsed at the 11th hour after […]

Editor’s note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on countries’ risk exposure, contribution and response to climate change. As the European Union faces pressure to quickly ratify the Paris Agreement, Poland has said it will only do so if it is given special concessions for its coal-based power sector, which the government plans on continuing to use for many years. In an email interview, Karolina Jankowska, an independent researcher on climate and energy policy and the author of a chapter in the forthcoming book “The European Union in International Climate Change Politics,” discusses Poland’s climate change policy. […]