The first foreign leader to visit Pakistan following its recent elections was the prime minister of China, signifying the close relations between the two countries. During the visit, Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari said, "Our top priority is to further strengthen economic linkages."
Peter Orszag writes that Americans report feeling like they switch jobs and move to new states more often now than in the past, but data show that the rates of job changes and interstate migration have actually declined.
Examines data including GDP, household debt, and industrial production to show the weakness of the current recovery compared to previous postwar rebounds.
Michael Spence argues that, although research suggests high debt levels have a negative effect on long-term growth, countries cannot restore growth through austerity measures alone.
Benn Steil's op-ed for Paul Solman's PBS The Business Desk site looks critically at calls for "a new Bretton Woods." He argues that many of the critical precepts behind the 1944 American Bretton Woods blueprint were overturned by the Truman Administration a mere three years later, and that the operation of the Bretton Woods monetary system was far briefer and more troubled than is typically reckoned.
Jose Alvarez, Herbert and Rose Rubin professor of international law at New York University School of Law, discusses the growth and distributional effects and the human rights implications of global economic governance through bilateral investment treaties, with a focus on the global south.
Outside of a humanitarian crisis—such as a famine or a natural disaster—it is hard to make the case that any country deserves another's economic support. To paraphrase Britain's Lord Palmerston, countries do not have permanent friends, only permanent interests.
America's generals understandably spend much of their time worrying about strong countries, notes Richard N. Haass. But in today's world, when the consequences of weakness in the remotest areas can quickly become global, the United States arguably has more to fear from weak countries.
Asked by Hassan, from National University Of Sciences and Technology
To date, Chinese officials have asserted that their interest in Gwadar is strictly a commercial effort to provide another energy corridor for Middle East oil, and Pakistani government officials stridently affirm this position. New Delhi, on the other hand, has expressed "concern" about the true motivations in developing Gwadar, suspecting that it is a Sino-Pak effort at encirclement.
Benn Steil explains in his column for Dow Jones' Financial News why the latest craze in monetary policymaking—targeting nominal output—has no staying power.
Joshua Kurlantzick discusses the China model of economic development, which he describes as, "economic liberalization without political liberalization."
Peter Orszag argues that switching to the chained consumer price index for calculating Social Security cost-of-living adjustments will not make as much of a difference as many seem to think.
Asked by Fagner Dantas, from Universidade Federal da Bahia
The Brazilian government faces a number of challenges and opportunities concerning its economic forecast in the coming years. After peaking at 7.5 percent growth in 2010, Brazil's recent economic slowdown has caused worry that the dream of a new high-growth economy had slipped out of reach.
Joshua Kurlantzick explores why the "Beijing Consensus" has attracted so many admirers in recent years in this excerpt from his new book Democracy in Retreat.
Peter Orszag writes that, although health care costs have been rising more slowly, recent data suggest Medicare spending growth may have sped up slightly in the past few months.
Discover a graphical take on geoeconomic issues, with links to the news and expert commentary.
CFR Experts Guide
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More
