[Shang-jin Wei] Using digital technology to narrow opportunity gap

Although many societies aspire to provide equal opportunities for everyone, that is easier said than done. People born into different economic and social statuses have unequal educational or financial starting points. This often leads to very different career and life opportunities.Digital technology was not invented to tackle inequality, and there is even a risk that it could widen existing economic and social disparities. But, as the case of China illustrates, new platforms also offer many pos

Nov. 11, 2019

[Trudy Rubin] Cutting-edge tech in China raises questions about future

One of the first things I learned on my current trip to Beijing is that foreigners are marooned if they don’t have a Chinese bank account.That’s because China, a global leader in e-commerce, has become a nearly cashless society. Everyone from school kids to grandmas pays for everything with a personal barcode on their cellphone. I mean everything, including bottles of water, rides with DiDi (the Chinese Uber), takeout dinners and haircuts.　International credit cards are rarely accept

Nov. 11, 2019

[George Soros] The rise of nationalism after the fall of the Berlin Wall

The fall of the Berlin Wall on the night of Nov. 8, 1989, dramatically and suddenly accelerated the collapse of communism in Europe. The end of travel restrictions between East and West Germany dealt a death blow to the closed society of the Soviet Union. By the same token, it marked a high point for the rise of open societies.I had become involved in what I call my political philanthropy a decade earlier. I became an advocate of the concept of open society that had been imbued in me by Karl Pop

Nov. 10, 2019

[Jeffrey D. Sachs] America’s war on Chinese technology

The worst foreign policy decision by the United States of the last generation -- and perhaps longer -- was the “war of choice” that it launched in Iraq in 2003 for the stated purpose of eliminating weapons of mass destruction that did not, in fact, exist. Understanding the illogic behind that disastrous decision has never been more relevant, because it is being used to justify a similarly misguided US policy today.The decision to invade Iraq followed the illogic of then-US Vice Presi

Nov. 10, 2019

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] The end of neoliberalism and the rebirth of history

At the end of the Cold War, political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote a celebrated essay called “The End of History?” Communism’s collapse, he argued, would clear the last obstacle separating the entire world from its destiny of liberal democracy and market economies. Many people agreed.Today, as we face a retreat from the rules-based, liberal global order, with autocratic rulers and demagogues leading countries that contain well over half the world’s population, Fukuyam

Nov. 7, 2019

[Han Myung-jin] ADEX 2019 and the Future of Defense Industrial Cooperation

The Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2019 (ADEX 2019) took place from Oct. 15-20 at Seoul Air Base, which was participated by delegations from 53 countries, with 430 aerospace and defense industries from 34 nations taking part in the exhibition. The international event served as a venue for showcasing Korea’s state-of-the-art weapon systems to visitors from home and abroad. This year’s ADEX was particularly significant as it unveiled the first full-size mock-up of

Nov. 7, 2019

[Kim Hyung-yun] Sharing our legislation with other Asian countries: Laying a foundation for economic growth and democracy

There is a Korean expression: to catch two hares at the same time. This means to accomplish two goals simultaneously. When we chase two hares, they are frightened to death and run away in all directions. Therefore, the implication is that catching two hares at one time is extremely challenging and unlikely.South Korea’s per capita gross national income surpassed $30,000 for the first time last year. And Korea has transformed itself from a recipient of development aid into a donor country a

Nov. 6, 2019

[Kim Myong-sik] A candid proposal for a breakthrough in Korea-Japan relations

This article is based on recent writings by three respectable South Koreans on relations between Korea and Japan that I happened to read last week. The writers were Hwang Kyung-choon, former chief correspondent in Seoul for the Associated Press; Im Jong-kun, former president of the Seoul Kyungje business daily; and poet/essayist Lee Seung-shin, daughter of the late Sohn Ho-yeon, well known in Japan for her devotion to “tanka” short poems.“The ardent wish that I have is nation a

Nov. 6, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] The Ottoman Empire’s fatal mistake

The Ottoman Empire, which was founded in the late 13th century and thrived for more than 600 years, resembled the Roman Empire in the sense that it was a vast imperial enterprise that encompassed three regions: Western Asia, Southeast Europe and North Africa. Although it was a Muslim country, the Ottoman Empire embraced diverse religions and cultures such as Islam, Christianity and Judaism, which coexisted peacefully.As Rhie Won-bok writes in his graphic narrative “The Ottoman Empire and T

Nov. 5, 2019

[Robert J. Fouser] Political turmoil spreads around the world

As the second decade of the third millennium draws to a close, the world seems to be entering an uncertain period of increased political turmoil. From Hong Kong to Barcelona, from Seoul to Santiago, millions of demonstrators have poured into the streets to demand change. Democracies in Europe and North America have become highly polarized.On the surface, the issues that stirred the protests are local, such as the controversy over former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk. Likewise, in Santiago, Chile,

Nov. 5, 2019

[Jean Pisani-Ferry] The great wealth tax debate

In 1990, 12 advanced economies had a tax on household wealth. Now only four do, after French President Emmanuel Macron scrapped his country’s version in 2017. Yet, a fierce debate has erupted in the United States over the proposal by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a leading Democratic presidential candidate, to introduce a tax of 2 percent on the wealth of “ultramillionaires” (and 3 percent on that of billionaires).In a new book, economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman of the Unive

Nov. 4, 2019

[Pankaj Mishra] Democracy is on the march

Across the world, from Hong Kong to Ecuador, Sudan to Iraq, angry protesters are filling urban streets and squares, clashing with police, smashing shops and burning tires. They do not have a clear leadership. Yet, even in hopelessly sectarian Lebanon, demonstrators seem defiantly united against their rulers. And they have claimed three major scalps already: the leaders of Sudan, Algeria and Lebanon. Their immediate motivations differ. Public rage was stirred in Lebanon by a proposed tax on Whats

Nov. 4, 2019

[Eduardo Levy Yeyati] Argentina’s narrow path to common ground

Sunday’s victory in Argentina’s presidential elections was both impressive and underwhelming. True, Peronist challenger Alberto Fernandez soundly beat President Mauricio Macri. But not only did Fernandez fail to match his running mate Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s record 54 percent of the vote when she won the presidency in 2011; Macri also bounced back from his disastrous August primary performance, his party scored wins in important cities and provinces and he retained his

Nov. 3, 2019

[Navjot Sangwan] The caste of credit in India

In 1950, the newly independent India officially abolished its caste system and outlawed discrimination against the Dalits, known as “untouchables,” who had been relegated to the bottom of that rigid social hierarchy. This attempt to right historical wrongs was underpinned by a virtuous capitalist vision of thriving Dalit businesses that lifted their owners to a level of social and economic respectability that eroded prejudice against them.But India’s caste system, buttressed by

Oct. 31, 2019

[Jeremy Adelman, Pablo Pryluka] Politics of frustration in Latin America

 All over Latin America, public patience is wearing thin, with violence in Chile and the return to power of Peronists in Argentina. For almost 40 years, leaders and voters have struggled to realign economies with global markets, leavening the adjustment with social policies to protect the worst-off. Center-right and center-left coalitions agreed on broad strokes. While they argued over taxes and other issues, Latin Americans accepted the need for foreign markets and foreign investment.For t

Oct. 31, 2019

[Doyle McManus] Trump and Ukraine: Putin’s got skin in this game, too

It’s only a little over a month since an intelligence community whistleblower turned the Trump administration on its side; it may seem like more. At first, the story seemed straightforward: The informant charged that President Trump had pressured Ukraine’s new president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and blocked US military aid to force the Ukrainian leader to do his bidding.　But the story has become more complicated along the way. Trump wasn’t askin

Oct. 30, 2019

[Tyler Cowen] How can California be left in the dark?

America continues to innovate wonderfully in cyberspace, but when it comes to solving actual, physical-world problems, its record is deteriorating. The fires in Northern California -- and the resulting power blackouts, affecting millions and running for days on end -- show just how many nodes of failure Americans are willing to tolerate or even encourage.　The practical and moral failings in this matter are so numerous it is hard to know where to start.　How about this: Systemic blackouts are comm

Oct. 30, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] “Animal Farm” still appeals to us in 2019

George Orwell’s “Animal Farm” is widely known as a satirical fable of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Although he was a democratic socialist himself, Orwell was deeply disillusioned by Stalin and communism, because in his eyes the Soviet Union hopelessly degenerated into a ruthless tyranny, a reign of terror and a cult of personality that worshipped its leader.Written in 1945, “Animal Farm” has become a classic today, frequently quoted when people criticize the hypo

Oct. 29, 2019

[Stephen Mihm] Wealth tax could deliver happiness dividend

When a study released earlier this month showed the wealthiest Americans paying a lower tax rate than any other group, Democratic presidential candidates embraced it as a proof that they were on the right track. While their tax-the-rich proposals vow to create a better economic balance, the candidates often pivot to what they would do with the proceeds: Medicare for All, student loan relief, infrastructure repair, and other expensive programs. Those equations have raised serious doubts, and for

Oct. 29, 2019

[Jonathan Bernstein] Why impeachment now?

I suspect that the group of people who didn’t favor impeaching and removing Donald Trump until they read the transcript of his July 25 phone conversation with Ukraine’s president is a very small group indeed.　If that’s so, why is the formal impeachment process happening now -- and why are some Republicans, such as Francis Rooney in the House and Mitt Romney in the Senate, apparently open to it?　Political scientist Matt Glassman floats one theory: that “recent events have

Oct. 28, 2019