Why Workers’ Wages Are a Worry in Bangladesh

Having just gone up, garment workers’ wages in Bangladesh show the tradeoff between cheap fast fashion and fair pay.

Why Is There a Run on Rice?

While India’s rice export ban was supposed to help domestic consumers, the global impact rippled far beyond one country.

What Do the BRICS Want to Build?

In 2001, Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill predicted that the BRICs would increasingly boost the world economy. Having created an unforgettable acronym, he guaranteed that many of us would pay attention to Brazil, Russia, India, and China. What the BRICS…

Why China Might Be Caught in the Middle Income Trap

A slew of statistics are coming out of China that document a slowdown. China’s Slowdown We can start with a decelerating GDP. Before Covid, the IMF predicted an annual growth rate that would be a bit less than 6%. Worse,…

Where and When We Can Find the Most Wealth

Looking at the world’s affluence we can point a lens at billionaire wealth and at global income inequality.

How to Identify an Emerging Market

When the press refers to the world’s emerging market economies, they could mean a vast array of disparate countries.

Where China Is Building New Financial Architecture

China’s debt exposure has grown with its Belt and Road Initiative becoming a massive loan rescue operation.

An Update: China’s One, Two, Three Child Policy

About much more than babies, China’s shrinking birth rate reflects a slew of trade offs that created some problematic externalities.

Where Has the Middle Class Gone?

Whether looking at the past 50 years in the United States or at the recent global impact of the pandemic, we see a shrinking middle class.

When the Price of Ice is a Problem

In West Africa, a road not yet built, sky high fuel prices, and the growing length of a fishing trip pushed up the price of ice. Today, we start with a small fishing boat and conclude with the world. The…