News and Analysis: 18-30 Mar 2015 | EmergingFrontierMarkets.com

Based in: Manila, Philippines

Posted on Mon, 30 Mar 15:

Bergsten: US should work with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, FT, 15 Mar 15 [via Peterson Inst]:
The US has correctly urged China to provide more resources to support development. The US should reverse course, join the bank and persuade Congress to provide the small amounts needed to fund a minority share. It should bless the desire of its friends in Asia and Europe to join to help counter any untoward Chinese actions, writes Inst emeritus dir

Jeffrey Sachs: By separating nature from economics, we have walked blindly into tragedy, Guardian, 10 Mar 15:
Sometime in the 19th century, economics largely dropped its traditional attention to land, water and food, as industry replaced agriculture as the leading econ sector. Economists decided, by and large, that they could ignore nature -- take it 'as given'. Mainstream economists derided the claims of 'limits to growth', writes Columbia U Earth Inst dir

Felipe, Mehta & Rhee: Should emerging markets still focus on manufacturing?, WEForum (blog), 16 Feb 15:
A long tradition in dev't economics treats manufacturing as special. Some of the dev't benefits the sector provides rely on large and growing numbers of manufacturing jobs. But there are two reasons why manufacturing employment-led dev't is becoming more challenging, write Asian Dev't Bank advisor; UC-Santa Barbara prof; and IMF Asia-Pac dept dir

Posted on Fri, 27 Mar 15:

Record Earth Hour set to unite the world on climate change, WWF, 26 Mar 15:
On Sat, 28 Mar, 8:30 PM, local time, individuals, businesses, cities and landmarks around the world will switch off their lights for one hour to focus attention on climate change. This year, an unprecedented 172 countries/territories have confirmed their participation, incl nations on the climate frontlines like the Philippines, Maldives and Madagascar

The last frontier of globalization - International migration, Dallas Fed Economic Letter, Mar '15 [PDF]:
The cross-border flow of people, or international migration, is one of the four dimensions of globalization, in addition to the cross-border flows of goods, capital, and ideas. It is by far the most politically charged aspect of globalization and the one with seemingly the least progress in recent decades

New voices in investment - A survey of investors from emerging countries, World Bank, 20 Nov 14:
One out of every three dollars invested abroad in 2013 originated in firms from developing and emerging-economies. These companies have become major sources of foreign direct investment and increasingly salient players in global markets. Yet we still have a limited understanding of the factors driving the impressive rise of these emerging market multinationals

Posted on Wed, 25 Mar 15:

Redistribution has more upsides than downsides, Asian officials told, IMF Survey Mag, 23 Mar 15:
Redistribution may have downsides, but they are probably offset by the positive benefits of greater equality on growth, an audience of Asian policy makers has heard. "Inaction about inequality is unlikely to be appropriate in many cases, and we should not jump to the conclusion that the treatment for inequality -- redistribution -- may be worse for growth," said IMF research dep dir

Erik Solheim: Targeted policies to eradicate poverty, OECD (blog), 9 Mar 15:
Economic growth in poor nations is crucial. But it will not be possible to end extreme poverty by 2030 through economic growth alone. Poverty eradication will require specific policies targeting the most vulnerable groups. The challenge will be to identify and implement the most effective policies, writes OECD dev't assistance cmte chair

Republicans must move beyond tax cuts alone - GW Bush's top econ adviser, WashPost, 27 Feb 15:
Few conservative economists have been as influential over the last decade as Glenn Hubbard. He was an architect of Pres GW Bush's tax cuts and of Mitt Romney's 2012 economic plan. Now he has taken to arguing that Republicans need more to their economic message [via Hubbard's site]

Posted on Mon, 23 Mar 15:

Has Asia learned lessons from the financial crisis?, Project M, Feb '15:
Asia-Pacific economies appeared to shrug off the financial contagion of the global financial crisis in 2008. Many experts chalked that up to important reforms countries made after suffering through the 1997 Asian financial crisis that began in Thailand and led to capital flight, plunging currencies and collapsed asset prices across the region

Singapore's economic miracle, Credit Suisse, 20 Mar 14:
Fifty years ago Singapore was just a commercial port in the middle of malaria-infested swampland. Today its per capita income exceeds that of Switzerland, making it the model of success for Asia. S'porean finance min shares his thoughts on its econ history (An excerpt from Lee Kuan Yew: The grand master's insights on China, US, and the World [MIT Press 2013])

Nook & Cranny: Bryan Caplan: Singapore's political economy -- Two paradoxes, Ethos/S'pore, July '09:
Singapore, when compared to almost any other democratic country, has two deeply puzzling features. Puzzle no.1: It frequently adopts policies that economists would call "economically efficient, but politically unpopular". Puzzle no.2: Even though it follows the forms of UK parliamentary democracy, it is effectively a one-party state, writes George Mason U prof

Posted on Fri, 20 Mar 15:

Hostility from US as China lures allies to new bank, NY Times, 20 Mar 15 [via NDTV/India]:
When Xi Jinping, then the newly minted Chinese leader, 1st broached the idea of a new Asian development bank in '13, few in Washington paid it much heed. Now the question is whether the Obama admin mishandled a significant challenge from China, and what it might have done differently (Why Europe defies the US to join a China-led bank, Deutsche Welle)

Q&A with fmr board chair, Bank for Int'l Settlements/ fmr Mexico central bank head, Money & Banking, 19 Mar 15:
Questions to Guillermo Ortiz: Has the experience of the crisis changed your view of the central bank policy tool kit?; Where should we be looking now for financial stability risks given this experience? and; What do we need to do to preserve the benefits of global finance?

Horizons: 'Groupthink' - Is it a problem?, Colorado Public Radio, 3 Feb 15:
What happens when you place a group of like-minded persons together in a room to discuss a controversial topic? In part, you end up in a new book by U Chicago's Hastie and Harvard's Sunstein about the problems that arise when people create their own 'personal echo chambers' (An excerpt from Wiser: Getting beyond groupthink to make groups smarter)

Posted on Wed, 18 Mar 15:

Uri Dadush: De-industrialization and development, Vox EU, 13 Mar 15:
Manufacturing is often seen as the key to export and productivity growth in developing nations. While manufacturing played a key role in some nations' development, a process of learning, productivity improvement, and investment that touches all sectors characterizes the most successful economies, writes Carnegie Endowment senior assoc

Q&A -- Explaining 'Audit the Fed', WSJ, by D Wessel, 17 Feb 15 [via Brookings Inst]:
While the Fed's financial statements are audited. current law blocks the congressional Government Accountability Office (GAO) from evaluating the Fed's monetary policy decisions. Sen. Rand Paul's bill would end that prohibition. The Fed thinks this is a horrible idea, writes Inst's Hutchins Ctr Fiscal & Monetary Policy dir

Lighting up Gaza - Reconnecting the electricity, World Bank, 5 Dec 14:
Gaza's electricity supply was severely damaged by Israeli military forces during the recent July-Aug conflict. Around 10% of Gaza's residents -- some 190,000 people -- remain without any electricity. The rest of the population experience rolling blackouts with very limited access to power, about 6 hours per day (Gaza - Accelerating recovery)

EmergingFrontierMarkets.com

emerging and frontier markets:

the unofficial field guide