Archive for March, 2008
The 2007 Energy Bill :: Sally Larsen
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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Sally Larsen breaks down the 2007 Energy Bill (PDF only).
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Putin in Perspective: Russia’s Democratic Authoritarian :: Cole Harvey
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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Few Western observers today are eager to be defenders of Vladimir Putin. The Russian president’s policies during his two terms in office have concentrated power in the hands of the executive, placed limits on the free media and, according to one commentator, “squeezed much (not all) of the pluralism, liberalism, and democratic proceduralism […]
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Bubbling Over: the Trade Deficit, the Falling Dollar and the Housing Bubble :: Jeff Ernsthausen
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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The capital markets are rumbling. Since hitting its record high of 14,150 points on October 9th of this year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen over 1,600 points, or 11.4 percent, as of the writing of this article. This comes after financial giants Citigroup and Merrill Lynch both ousted their CEOs after […]
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Pittsburgh’s Contemporary Urban Renewal :: Andrew Macurak
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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Famed Pittsburgh mayor David L. Lawrence once characterized Pittsburgh’s efforts toward renewal as taking “pleasure in the swing of the wrecking ball and the crash of the falling brick.” To the benefit of all - except demolition contractors - recent efforts have instead seen the city itself as a resource to be drawn […]
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Pressure From All Sides: How the Mexican Economy is Encouraging Emigration :: Zachary Mueller
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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The last half century has witnessed a rising tide of migrants moving to the first world from developing countries. According to Eurostat, the information center of the European Union, Australia, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom have all experienced immigration booms since 1950, with population influxes from the former Soviet Union, the Middle […]
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Formal Institutions and Social Ties: Contract Enforcement in Mongolia :: Amanda Gregg
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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Since the fall of the Soviet Union the Central Asian nation of Mongolia has sought to transform itself into a market-based economy. During the 1990s, economists debated why some former Soviet nations experienced successful or relatively painless transitions while others faced slow economic growth, poverty and chaos. One theory on these differences suggests […]
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Argentina’s First Couple: The Presidency of Cristina Kirchner :: Andrew Rishel
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
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By most indicators, the presidency of Argentina’s Nestor Kirchner appears to have been a grand success. He has presided over a period of robust annual GDP growth during which the unemployment rate has halved and government surpluses have swelled. Fewer than 20 percent of Argentines hold a negative opinion of him. Despite this, […]