ECONOMICS AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS
AP Photo
May 16, 2013
"A Seat at the Arctic Table"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"...[T]he Arctic Council agreed to let nations that, at last look at the map, are not located anywhere near the Arctic, join as observers. It may seem a diplomatic nicety, but it is the recognition that the Arctic Council nations no longer have a monopoly on the region. China, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Singapore are on a hunt for more energy and have their eyes on the waning polar ice caps."
May 14, 2013
"Change the Conversation, Change the Venue and Change Our Future"
Op-Ed
By Melissa Hathaway, Senior Advisor, Explorations in Cyber International Relations
"The G20 has an opportunity to articulate a vision for shaping the Internet economy for the next five to 10 years. The power of the leadership of this body, combined with its ability to assemble and speak to a simple, positive narrative for cybersecurity anchored in our collective economic well-being (and GDP growth), could be a watershed event. The GDP erosion that all nations are suffering places cybersecurity within the legitimate processes and 'architecture' of international economic governance. By changing the conversation to being about the economy and growth, this approach would enable the G20 to de-escalate the militarization and balkanization of the Internet."
Summer 2013
"International Council Members Debate Critical Issues"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The Belfer Center launched its annual International Council meeting on April 9 with animated discussions of, among others, U.S. energy politics, the links between economic policy and national security, cybersecurity, and the rise of China. Participants included members of the Center's International Council and Board of Directors as well as faculty and senior fellows.
Summer 2013
"Conference Spotlights Saudi Arabia’s Role in the Middle East"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki Al Faisal told a standing-room only audience at Harvard Kennedy School in April that his nation is investing huge sums in solar, wind, and nuclear energy to reduce domestic reliance on its oil reserves. Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia’s security depends on a healthy energy policy that uses oil to earn export revenues rather than for domestic consumption.
May 9, 2013
"The Federal Reserve's Policy Dead End"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"The Federal Reserve recently announced that it will increase or decrease the size of its monthly bond-buying program in response to changing economic conditions. This amounts to a policy of fine-tuning its quantitative-easing program, a puzzling strategy since the evidence suggests that the program has done little to raise economic growth while saddling the Fed with an enormous balance sheet."
May 2, 2013
"Immigration Reform Stays on US Soil"
Op-Ed, Boston Globe
By Juliette Kayyem, Lecturer in Public Policy
"Immigration reform is about meeting the economic needs of the United States in the 21st century, from rural labor to Silicon Valley start-ups. It is about creating a border enforcement policy that is tough but also not cruel. It is about the United States. It is not about Mexico."
April 24, 2013
"Hard Lessons in Keynesian Economics"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By David Ignatius, Senior Fellow, Future of Diplomacy Project
"John Maynard Keynes once said that words should be used aggressively, “for they are the assault of thoughts on the unthinking.” That’s a starting point for an appreciation of Mervyn King, who will retire soon as governor of the Bank of England and who has displayed the quirky intellectual passion of Keynes himself."
PressTV
April 2013
Middle East Development Journal Releases March 2013 Issue
Announcement
Though the events of the Arab Spring in 2010 and 2011 represented the beginning of a revolution, the real revolution is yet to occur, writes Ishac Diwan in his introduction to the March 2013 issue of the Middle East Development Journal.
April 12, 2013
"Indonesia's Narrow Road of Dynastic Politics"
Op-Ed, The Straits Times
By Derwin Pereira, International Council Member, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"Oligarchs in Indonesia today have such a stranglehold over the political process that the outcome of next year's presidential race will largely be in their hands. Outsiders eyeing the top post will not get far, even if they are popular, without the approval of one of the nation's powerful families."
April 10, 2013
"Rebooting African Economies: Science and Engineering for Rapid Economic Transformation"
Announcement
By Calestous Juma, Professor of the Practice of International Development; Director, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project; Principal Investigator, Agricultural Innovation in Africa
A lecture by Calestous Juma from 3:00–5:30 PM, April 18, 2013, at the Golf Course Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. Organized by the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA). Africa's identity has historically been associated with its vast natural resources which have shaped not only its political culture but also defined its place in the global family of nations. In recent years, however, a new picture of Africa has started to emerge. African economies are increasingly being view as rapid adopters of emerging technologies. The aim of this lecture is to identify approaches for leveraging the world's fund of scientific, technological, and engineering knowledge for rapid economic transformation.
