[Christopher Balding] China’s top economic risk? Education.

Chinese President Xi Jinping recently laid out a bold vision for transforming his country into a fully developed economy by 2050, with a particular emphasis on spurring innovation and technology. Given China’s current level of human capital -- and some looming changes in the world economy -- that may be harder than he expects.A widely held view in the West is that China’s schools are brimming with math and science whizzes, just the kind of students that companies of the future will need. But thi

Nov. 22, 2017

[Noah Smith] China looks to dumb money for its financial industry

China is opening its financial firms to more foreign ownership. The opportunity might seem tempting. But developed-world buyers should beware -- it’s possible that it’s a trap.　On Nov. 10, Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao announced changes in the rules limiting foreign ownership of Chinese financial companies. Foreign investors will now be allowed to take controlling interests in Chinese securities firms, insurance companies, asset managers and futures traders. Banks may soon follow.　That soun

Nov. 21, 2017

[John Ioannidis] Economics isn’t unreliable, we are

The financial crises of the last two decades, and our failure to predict them, have wreaked havoc on more than just the global economy. The bursting of the dot-com bubble in 2000, the Enron scandal and the global financial crisis of 2008 have led to a loss of faith in economics itself.But these crises and scandals do not mean that the science of economics is inherently unreliable. Most of them occurred because we ignored what we knew.Perhaps most obviously, we deputized -- and continue to deputi

Nov. 21, 2017

[Trudy Rubin] 40 years ago, Sadat trip to Jerusalem changed the Mideast

On Nov. 19, 1977, I stood on wooden risers at Ben Gurion Airport waiting to see if the circling plane carrying Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was really going to land.Israelis were in a state of shock and disbelief that the head of the largest Arab country had made a historic decision to visit Jerusalem. He was the first Arab leader to do so since the establishment of the Jewish state.Next to me, an Israeli Foreign Ministry staffer was sobbing. Another asked me if I thought the Egyptian plane mi

Nov. 21, 2017

[David Lieberman] When bosses are bullies

Policymakers have enjoyed a free pass in discussions over what to do in response to the sexual harassment allegations taking down Hollywood producers, news media titans and actors. Because the worst of the transgressions already are illegal, lawmakers seem satisfied to call for culprits to be fired or to step down and for corporate leaders to promise that they’ll crack down on offenders more quickly in the future.But legislators can do more to address the problem. They can make workplace bullyin

Nov. 20, 2017

[Adam Minter] China gives flying cars real boost

For nearly two decades, Shanghai’s spindly skyline has inspired comparisons to the dystopian Los Angeles of Ridley Scott’s futurist-noir film “Blade Runner.” There’s wild architecture, giant video billboards and horizon-obscuring smog. The only things missing are the flying cars zipping between buildings.　That may soon change. This week, China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group acquired Terrafugia, a Boston-based company that plans to start selling flying cars by 2019. It’s the most prominent Chines

Nov. 20, 2017

[Lillian Trahan] Eating crab meat almost killed my mom

The last time my mother ate crab meat, it nearly killed her. I’m not being melodramatic. Earlier this year, she ate a few bites of a traditional Korean dish, gejang, which is made with raw crab meat. That’s all it took. The crab was contaminated with Vibrio, also known as “flesh-eating bacteria.” She was hospitalized for more than three weeks and will likely be in a long-term care facility for months. Doctors are trying hard to save her fingertips and toes.Here’s what she wants others to know: V

Nov. 19, 2017

[Chicago Tribune] Trump’s trade phobia hurts the Midwest

President Donald Trump went to Asia for nearly two weeks, an unusually long time away from Washington for an American leader. Was it worth the effort and aviation fuel? No, especially for us in the Midwest. He returns to the White House with the United States in weaker economic and diplomatic positions in the Pacific because of his blind spot on trade.One of Trump’s first actions as president was to quit the TPP, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a broad trade agreement with 11 other nations. Trump

Nov. 19, 2017

[Michael Plant, Peter Singer] The moral urgency of mental health

If we can prevent great suffering at no cost to ourselves, we ought to do so. Yet Western governments are neglecting an opportunity to reduce the great misery caused by mental illness, even though the net cost would be nil.The evidence for this claim comes from recent research by a team of economists at the London School of Economics. The team, directed by Richard Layard, drew on data from four major developed countries -- Australia, Britain, Germany, and the United States -- in which people wer

Nov. 19, 2017

[David Ignatius] Trump makes America retreat from the world

As President Trump ends his Asia trip, he might sum up the 12-day journey with a revision of the remark attributed to Julius Caesar: Veni, vidi, blandivi. I came, I saw, I flattered.　Trump’s trip was closer to a pilgrimage than a projection of power. The president rarely explained details of US policy. Instead, he mostly asked other leaders for help, lauded their virtues, and embraced their worldviews.　Along the adulation tour, Trump spoke of his “really extraordinary” relationship with Japanese

Nov. 17, 2017