India's general election in 2019- performance and flaws of the Modi government

06/05/2018

Differing views of the Modi government, views of the middle class hurt by demonetisation uncertainty from Dhume and views representing the interests of the rural, lower income and other part of the middle class from Arvind Panagriya. Some of the changes brought about by the Modi government reflecting the vision of Mahatma Gandhi for fundamental change from the ground up in the villages and rural parts of India- health and sanitation, access to bank accounts, access to health care- coupled with Nehru's vision of modernization using the technologies of the twenty first century.

Linked Articles

Modi’s three big gambles: We’ll soon know if demonetisation, GST and Adityanath damaged BJP’s re-election prospects

Times of India Blog 06/05/2018

Sadanand Dhume

Times of India Blog 05/30/2018

Arvind Panagriya

Lessons for India, Mexico and China from the failures in Brazil

04/03/2018

Linked Articles

These Developing Countries Are Getting Old Before They Get Rich, with Dire Consequences

WSJ 04/02/2018

Paul Kiernan, Luciana Magalhaes

The New York Times 03/05/2018

Shasta Darlington, Donald G. Mcneil Jr.

Brexit and headwinds ahead with higher inflation, skepticism inside the City and probabilities of a "disorderly break"

01/17/2017

Linked Articles

Why Brexit is still undefined - BBC News

BBC News 01/17/2017

The Telegraph 11/27/2016

James Titcomb

The 1976 Montreal Olympics, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the Rio Olympics- decades long debt hangovers and costs growing from the $1+ billion in Montreal to $50+ billion in Sochi

08/24/2016

Developing and developed countries alike have seen the cost of the Olympics as a huge burden. Many countries or cities that committed to hosting the Olympic games during boom years were facing economic hard times by the time of the games. Corruption and mismanagement of public funds, overspending and cost overruns added to the problems. Citizens uproar caused cities such as Boston and Oslo to withdraw bids for the Olympics. The Olympics appears to be a costly way to show off a country, and raises questions about better allocation of funds in other directions, especially when upward mobility is a problem for the middle and working class, countries have other infrastructure needs, and neglected basic needs in education, healthcare, public services.

Linked Articles

The 40-year hangover: how the 1976 Olympics nearly broke Montreal

The Guardian 07/06/2016

The New York Times 08/23/2016

Michael Powell

Donald Trump's proposal for 45% tariff on China's exports to the U.S.- how a policy of bringing jobs home could lead to the loss of 1 million U.S. jobs

03/08/2016

By damaging the international trading system including with allies such a Canada, Britain, France and Germany, the result of a downward spiral through higher tariffs in other countries, could end up costing the U.S. 1 million jobs. Under such a system the U.S. would lose many of the advantages of its booming tech sector, its tech driven global advantages in many industries, without signifcant gains in low cost imports such as clothing which would simply migrate to other countries such as India. The problem of worker wage stagnation in the U.S., and loss of jobs in certain sectors, is very real, but this is the wrong way to tackle the problem. China is already moving towards a consumer driven economy. Economists show that trade with Mexico would be seriously hurt both ways, creating more pressure of migrants at the border under such proposals as a 45% tariff and its indirect effect on Mexico, when the actual fact is that net migration from Mexico is the lowest it has ben in decades. Politics can do strange things as when two senators Smoot and Hawley from agricultural states Utah and Oregon, at the head of important committees in the U.S. Congress pushed and passed legislation for a 60% tariff in 1930 for the industrial sector they had no idea about. When Smoot and Hawley lost reelection in 1932 they left behind a lot of damage, especially for the farmers and workers they thought they were fighting for.

Linked Articles

How Trump’s Hard Line on Trade Could Backfire

Wall Street Journal 03/25/2016

Bob Davis, Bob, Davis

Wall Street Journal 03/08/2016

Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Holman, W., Jenkins, Jr.

The Chinese market in 2015 and pitfalls for Yum Brands and its KFC, Pizza Hut stores in China

10/21/2015

Rapid growth and then a public scare with media reports of falling quality standards hurt KFC outlets. Local Chinese and Taiwanese brands offer more options at the higher and lower ends of the price range. Other European competitors partnering with local Chinese companies offer better value and quality upscale hurting Pizza Hut stores. And suddenly the whole landscape has changed for Yum Brands in China. It shows the Chinese market is no place for the complacent, that the discriminating tastes of consumers and search for healthier alternatives is taking place in China, India and other developing countries, just as much as it is in the U.S.

Linked Articles

China Isn’t the Easy Market It Once Was for Fast-Food Chains

Wall Street Journal 10/21/2015

Laurie Burkitt, Laurie, Burkitt

Wall Street Journal 10/21/2015

Julie Jargon, Julie, Jargon

Norway parliament's decision to divest holdings in companies 30% dependent on coal opens up debate on coal- (3) Coal India and the 1 billion ton target for 2020

05/14/2015

With about 300 million people without electricity, and India lagging behind Brazil and Indonesia in the percentage of population lacking electricity, the goal is to modernize the coal industry and increase production. This shows the different tradeoffs in less developed countries such as India, which face a completely different set of tradeoffs, and are moving in the opposite direction out of necessity. China is just entering a period after rapid modernization where the discussion about the tradeoffs is shifting, whereas India remains in a very different phase.

Linked Articles

Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change

New York Times 06/05/2015

John Schwartz, John, Schwartz

Wall Street Journal 05/14/2015

Raymond Zhong And Niharika Mandhana, Raymond, Zhong, And, Niharika, Mandhana

The Obama administration's efforts on the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), after losing allies in Asia and Europe to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank

04/17/2015

The Obama administration pushes a free trade pact that includes the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. This free trade pact is now seen as a U.S. effort to counter China in the Asian region. India, UK, Germany, France, Italy and other European countries decided to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank sponsored by China, on its merits, after the U.S. refused to join.

Linked Articles

TPP: Momentum on Trade Deal Bolsters U.S., Japan Efforts to Counter China

Wall Street Journal 04/17/2015

Jacob Schlesinger, Jacob, Schlesinger, Mitsuru Obe, Mitsuru, Obe, And Mark Magnier, And, Mark, Magnier

Wall Street Journal 04/17/2015

William Mauldin, William, Mauldin

Two party systems and Malaysia's UMNO Party- (2) the future economic prospects of Malaysia under Razak, India under Modi, Indonesia under Widodo

12/08/2014

Najib Razak follows his father Tun Abdul Razak, Mahathir before him, all the way back to Tunku Abdul Rahman, all of the UMNO party, in an uninterrupted control of the United Malay Naional Organization Party which has ruled Malaysia for almost 6 decades. Malaysia has followed the example of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore by keeping the opposition parties weak to maintain control. Both the UMNO and the party of Lee in Singapore face questions about the merits of suppressing the development of two party systems, at a time when government is changing hands to opposition parties in most of the region and improving economic prospects in each country with a change of government- Abe in Japan, Widodo in Indonesia, Modi and Sharif in India and Pakistan, Aquino in the Philippines, Wickremesinghe in Sri Lanka. A economic drift with no clear direction under Singh and Bhutto in India and Pakistan was reversed with the election of Modi and Sharif, the economic drift and deflation under the Kan and Noda governments was reversed in Japan with the election of Abe, and the economic drift in Indonesia is being reversed by the Widodo government. This shows how critical two party systems are to functioning democracies as middle classes develop and voters look for competing views of the future to choose from.

Linked Articles

Fund Controversy Threatens Malaysia’s Leader

Wall Street Journal 06/19/2015

Tom Wright, Tom, Wright

Wall Street Journal 12/08/2014

Patrick Mcdowell, Patrick, Mcdowell, Ben Otto, Ben, Otto, Matt Murray, Matt, Murray

The 56% of student loans that are being repaid to the government and the government not correctly reflecting its liabilities

10/17/2014

Studies by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York are cited by authors of the op-ed in WSJ, showing 56% of student loans are being repaid to the government.

Linked Articles

Student-Loan Debt: A Federal Toxic Asset

Wall Street Journal 10/17/2014

Joel Best, Joel, Best, Eric Best, Eric

Wall Street Journal 10/17/2014

Letter To Editor, Letter, To, Editor

Russia and "dirty money" flowing into the West, including the City of London, hurting the average Russian and the Russian economy- the role of western sanctions in limiting this flow

07/22/2014

Linked Articles

The West's 'Moment of Truth'

Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014

Editorial

Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014

Oliver Bullough, Oliver, Bullough

Questions about whether justice and accountability were accomplished in the U.S. Justice Department's settlement with Credit Suisse

05/19/2014

A WSJ editorial and a separate piece in the NYT question the assumption that justice and accountability were achieved in the U.S. government's settlement with Credit Suisse. The nagging question- is Attorney General Holder simply burnishing his image after failing to establish accountability and justice following the 2008 global financial crisis, which dealt a serious blow to America's middle class. Collective wrongdoing starts with individual actions, and holding individuals responsible establishes accountability, so that the public is protected from future actions of this nature. Somewhere since the crisis this principle has been lost in the Obama administration. A churn in management for failures is considered healthy for other American companies, and healthy for free enterprise, readers are likely to wonder why this is not so for the banks.

Linked Articles

Credit Suisse Pleads Guilty in Felony Case

New York Times 05/19/2014

Ben Protess, Ben, Protess, Jessica Silver Greenberg, Jessica, Silver Greenberg

Wall Street Journal 05/21/2014

Editorial

The ways in which the Modi administration can accelerate growth in India (2) - rapid technology adoption and the synergy between new technologies, human resources and invested capital

05/17/2014

Linked Articles

India's Modi Moment

Wall Street Journal 05/17/2014

Editorial

Wall Street Journal 05/19/2014

Dhanya Ann Thoppil, Dhanya, Ann, Thoppil