Is OPIC Too Small to Fail?
U.S. President Obama has made two trips to India during his time in office, and on both occasions Elizabeth Littlefield, chief executive of the Overseas Private Investment Corp., accompanied him. Littlefield heads the roughly 250-person government agency that has come to embody the administration’s business-first approach to global development, and her position has become central to […]
Recovering Egypt is Ripe for Investment
With Egypt’s economic conference barely a week away, anticipation about the opportunities it will unveil is high in the country as well as among foreign business communities. Those familiar with Egypt know that the scope for investing there is immense because expansions and improvements are needed in every economic sector. That is why the outcome […]
The Future of Trade: U.S. Rules. Or China’s Rules.
And you thought net neutrality was kind of boring? Well the Trans-Pacific Partnership isn’t the most scintillating of subjects, unless you’re the U.S. Trade Representative, but it might just be the most important piece of legislation that Congress will debate this year.Don’t take Paul Krugman’s word for it, though. He says that it’s “No Big […]
Chinese Premier Sketches a Lofty Vision for Private Enterprise but Warns of Obstacles
Premier Li Keqiang, in his annual speech to the nation, warned Thursday that China would have to overcome economic inefficiencies, excess capacity and impediments to private enterprise if it were to maintain healthy rates of growth. In his state-of-the-nation report to the National People’s Congress, the Communist Party-run legislature, which meets in full session once […]
The “Invisible Hand” of the State in MENA Economies
Two centuries ago, Adam Smith claimed that capitalism would be promoted through the presence of competing actors who would optimize economic resource allocation “as if by an invisible hand.” This valuable ability of unbridled markets could not be matched by a central government, warned Ludwig von Mises in the 1920s, and in the 1950s, Friedrich […]
Why RCEP Is Vital for India
Mega regional trade deals are in vogue in an otherwise fragile global economy. In an environment of falling aggregate demand, these trade deals are seen as a means to insulate economies from market uncertainties. Three important mega regionals are currently under negotiation: the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership of Asia and the Pacific (RCEP), the Trans-Pacific […]
East Africa: U.S.-EAC Sign New Trade Pact
The United States Trade Representative (USTR) Michael Froman, last week announced new moves to ease trade between the US and the East African Community. “This agreement will help us lift the burdens that trade barriers impose, unlocking opportunity on both our continents,” he said in Washington. According to the USTR, trade of goods between the […]