Read all posts from ‘Global Issues’

  Abstract: In contrast to the calls for austerity made by European governments in recent months, the Brazilian government defends the idea that social and public investment is the way that states can overcome the specter of recession and bankruptcy. In Brazil, this policy has resulted in a program implemented since […]

  The United States of America faces a number of grim issues- disparity in income and wealth, the consolidation of power, the erosion of civil liberties- all of which are not being adequately addressed by the current system of governance. One effect of this is that Americans’ interest in a […]

  No one knows what the term “music industry” means in Ecuador.  We did have one a long time ago, I think, but it just disappeared because local music couldn’t compete with foreign imports. Nowadays local music can’t compete with them either, even though worldwide record sales are poor and the […]

When economic growth is not a given anymore, how can democratically elected governments trigger growth, maintain the welfare state and keep public spending down all at the same time? The answer is easy: they simply can’t. European welfare states have come to a crossroads. On the one hand, private investors […]

Protests, Poverty and Prosperity in Perspective 2012 started with a bang in Bucharest. The usually sedate Romanian capital erupted with protests the likes of which had not been seen for at least a decade. At first glance it seemed that people were angry with new healthcare legislation and the ousting of a […]