Scientific and technological progress will not, on their own, lead to improvements in the political realm. The economy cannot be effective if the political system is insufficiently free.
As the twentieth anniversary of the independence of the Central Asia states approaches, the international community's track record in Central Asia is mixed at best. The adoption of new strategies offers Western institutions a chance to achieve some measurable successes in the region.
The Algerian government’s response to the global economic crisis is an emergency package months overdue and unlikely to stimulate economic growth. Restrictions on foreign investment, imports and a complete ban on consumer credit will do little to support an already fragile Algerian economy.
Supported by solid import demand in Asia, worldwide stimulus measures, and a mild consumption recovery, global exports are rising from very low levels. However, questions about sustained growth in consumer demand still threaten the recovery.
Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies has reported that the country's biggest challenges to economic growth stem from a lack of leadership, inconsistent policies, and poor governmental communication. Though the diagnosis is accurate, the proposed recommendations fail to address the root causes of these problems.
China's fiscal stimulus, intended to increase domestic consumption in the face of lagging U.S. demand by expanding bank lending, may in fact have the opposite effect by creating bad loans— the fallout of which will ultimately inhibit consumption.
The Strategic and Economic Dialogue should aim to resolve what seem like domestic policy conflicts between China and the United States, but which are ultimately trade rebalancing issues.
A tightly coordinated, well-executed S&ED may be just the format to advance the world's most important bilateral relationship.
Large industrialized nations like the United States, Japan, and Germany have benefited from increasing global demand for relatively stable economies in which to invest.
A recent poll showing that 60 percent of Russians support the return of direct elections for regional governors, indicates a growing realization that the authorities are in no condition to fulfill their obligations.























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