With the easing of international sanctions on Burma’s military junta, the Japanese business elite has wasted little time in jumping on this new opportunity. As the Financial Times reports, Japanese businesses are now looking to get involved in the growing Burmese market any way they can: Three months after Japan agreed to waive much of […]

The vice presidency is the job that everyone wants but nobody likes. The desire is obvious. A spot on the presidential ticket provides ambitious politicians (which is to say, politicians) with the most precious commodity in politics: national exposure. Moreover, scandal, illness and assassination have conspired to elevate an extraordinary number of vice-presidents to the […]

The economic growth powering Asian countries is also intensifying the competition for resources. The South China Sea in particular has played host to a number of disputes already this year, involving China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. So it is welcome news that the ten ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) members have agreed to key elements […]

As we follow the evolving story of collapsing public pensions, one of the trickiest issues is the lack of reliable estimates of future returns on investment. Many of the biggest offenders among pensions assume returns of 8 percent or higher. These numbers may seem reasonable by historical standards, but they’re hopelessly optimistic today. Even plans […]

The financial world has been shaken this month with reports that a number of British banks may be guilty of fixing London Interbank Offered Rates (LIBOR) for their own gain. As LIBOR rates are an international benchmark to which hundreds of trillions of dollars in loans are tied, this is a very big deal that […]

Bill Easterly tips us off to “the most powerful argument against autocracy yet”: video of a ludicrous staged Disney performance for the entertainment of North Korea’s Superme Leader Kim Jong Un and a throng of beaming generals.[yframe url=’https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XRWqnD8HV8&feature=player_embedded’]This absurd episode could be a part of a much larger project, as The New York Times reports: […]

Via Meadia often talks about the importance of telecommuting for the future of the American economy. Many businesses these days allow employees to work from home. But how can a manager make sure they aren’t slacking off? One solution involves new software and management techniques that make it possible for managers to monitor their employees’ […]

Hugo Chavez must have Jesus moonlighting as his oncologist. Not since Christ walked the Earth has one man been miraculously cured so many times.Chavez was first diagnosed in July of 2011 with a cancerous growth on his pelvis. A few months later, the President touched down in Caracas and told reporters with a stirring shout […]

As a social scientist with broad cross-national interests, I subscribe to a number of periodicals that provide reasonably reliable information on what goes on in different parts of the world. But every couple of weeks or so I go to Harvard Square and browse for what looks interesting in the kiosk that sits in the […]

The economic optimism that many expressed coming into 2012 is now far behind us. Month after month of anemic growth in America, ineffective leadership in Europe, and slowing economies in China and India has sent the world economy into a prolonged blight, and people are once again concerned that we may see a double-dip in […]