Of Sh--holes & Trump-Era USAID
No matter how offensive Trump's opinions of developing countries is, it's probably for the best that the developing world understand the viewpoint held by the leader of the United States. Let…
Showing posts with the label Development
Can Ivanka Trump Stop Pop From Cutting US Aid?
Would Ivanka Trump be complicit if tens of thousands died due to starvation arising from US foreign aid cuts? To say Donald Trump hates poor foreigners is an understatement. He's definitely bigo…
Will Automation End Asia's 'Old' Development Path?
Is this an endangered scene for countries like Bangladesh? What would its consequences be? There is much hand-wringing going on about automation lessening the need for human workers and the unemploym…
Hong Kong, London Vie to Fund One Belt, One Road
Xi Jinping hawks OBOR to Filipino flunkies . Apparently, there are many of these sorts all over the world. So we may have expressed some doubts about the now-legendary PRC "One Belt, One Road&q…
One Belt, One Baloney? PRC's Silk Road Revival Doubts
Over the weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted an elaborate event in Beijing concerning the PRC's idea of reviving the historical Silk Road. Spanning much of Asia and the Middle East besi…
See? Even Trump Recognizes Ex-Im Bank's Worth
Back in business thanks to Trump...of all people. When you think of a person of no conviction, the name "Donald Trump" comes to mind. Mind you, the lack of core beliefs is not always a draw…
Did Trump Finish Off Asian Export-Led Development?
Is it really a whole new world? If there's any such thing as a premature call, then it's probably to label Asian export-led development "dead" because of anticipated Trump-led US pr…
Will MSCI Demote Peru From Emerging to Frontier Market?
Stock market "trading"--something of a Peruvian novelty. Later today, the market indexing firm MSCI will issue guidance on whether to include Chinese equities in their emerging market indi…
Mission Creep: EBRD Turns Into Mideast Aid Agency
You see a major Jordanian camp for Syrians refugees in Zaatari ; the EBRD sees a development opportunity. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was founded in the aftermath of W…
Pol Eco of Stats: World Bank's New $1.90 Poverty Line
New targets require new measures of poverty, right? There has been, in the memorable characterization of Robert Wade, a "p olitical economy of statistics " concerning poverty and inequality…
The Day the World Bank (Sorta) Went on Strike
World Bank headquarters - an unlikely site for "industrial action." Being in the service of world development and an American-led institution has always presented a conflict of interest at…
US Plan to Strangle China's World Bank Rival, Pt 2
Today the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) was born. This is a continuation of a previous post on the US wanting Chinese competition in development lending to just go away despite the lik…
Modi's India: Japan or China as Business Muse
Japanese, Chinese want the "Gujarat Model" replicated across India. The selection of Najendra Modi as India's prime minister is taken as a sign that the rest of the country wishes to fo…
New World Order? BRICS "New Development Bank"
We've heard all that before, unfortunately, BRICS. Grand plans to supplant the (American-designed) postwar global financial architecture lie thick on the ground. As I noted in 2007 , poor countri…
Latin Victimhood: From Depedencia to Suarez the Biter
Adidas takes the trophy for World Cup 2014's most horrendously prescient ad campaign . Last year, Luis Suarez hit the headlines when he bit Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic and was suspended …
Open Source Firefox vs iOS, Android in Emerging Mkts
France's Alcatel is an also-ran handset maker seeking to capitalize on Mozilla OS. I got on the information superhighway in 1994. Back then, our 33,600-baud modem was a high-spec model even if pi…
How the World Cup Showcases Brazilian Inequality
Just as you don't see fat or old people in Ricky Martin videos , something's missing here. Brazil has long been the unwilling keeper of an image of radically high inequality, with fabulous we…
Happy 50th Birthday G-77! (Well, Sort Of)
We kicked out S Korea after it joined the OECD rich country club, but its UN chief attended anyway. Most of you are probably thinking, those guys are still around? The G-77 was forged during a tim…