In light of the Syrian Civil War, the Refugee Crisis it created, and the chaos in the Ukraine, the European Debt Crisis has fallen off the public radar. Greece, although receiving the lion’s share of public criticism, is far from the only country in a dangerous economic situation, and Italy will be the next domino…
On November 30, 2015, the International Monetary Fund’s executive board announced the decision to include China’s Renminbi into the Special Drawing Right Basket (SDR), effective October 2016. Created by the IMF in 1969 in the context of the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system, SDR is an international reserve asset that helps its holder…
![Macri celebrates winning enough votes to force Argentina into a runoff election [Photo Credit: AFP]](../../../wp-content/uploads/2015/11/arg-220x126.jpg)
This year marks an important point in Argentine history as current President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner reaches the end of her two term limit and the country prepares to vote a new president into office. Nestor Kirchner, husband of Mrs. Kirchner, served as president prior to Mrs. Kirchner’s time in office. This year’s election will…
The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), a proposed trade agreement between the United States and the European Union, has sparked much controversy. Noticeably, instead of focusing on reducing tariffs, the TTIP proposes to align the U.S. and EU’s currently incompatible rules and regulations. Although opposition is voiced most loudly in several EU countries where…
![World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama discuss Ghana's work to end poverty [Photo Credit: Dominic Chavez/World Bank]](../../../wp-content/uploads/2015/11/world-bank-blog-post-photo-220x126.jpg)
The rate of extreme poverty in Africa has dropped 13% in the last twenty years. Steady economic growth has contributed to reducing poverty rates and improving health and education throughout Africa according to a report released by the World Bank. On Friday, the World Bank released a report on poverty in Africa titled Poverty in…
![The M-Akiba Bond Program allows Kenyans to purchase government bonds using mobile money [Photo Credit: Creative Commons Erict19]](../../../wp-content/uploads/2015/10/mobile-money-picture-1-220x126.jpg)
The M-Akiba bond sale program, which was first announced as part of Kenya’s 2015-16 budget proposal in June, has begun offering five-year bonds worth a total of 5 billion Kenyan Shillings ($49 million) this October. Citizens will be able to purchase the government bonds using their existing mobile money accounts for a minimum of 3,000…
Introduction The world has undergone several dramatic changes in recent decades. Globalization has made our nations increasingly integrated and interdependent. In spite of augmented international economic and political integration, the world continues to endure poverty, inequality, political volatility, and environmental degradation. Moreover, climate change threatens the food and water supply and places the lives of…
In the past few years, Kenya has seen a spike in domestic and international terrorism, epitomized by the horrific Westgate Mall attacks in 2013. Unfortunately, this tragic attacks have had a dramatic effect on one of the most important sectors of the Kenyan economy: tourism. In response to the spread of violence throughout the nation,…
International attention was briefly drawn back to Greece on April 10 after a car bomb exploded in front of a Bank of Greece building, just a day before German Chancellor Angela Merkel landed to visit Athens. April 10 also marked an important day for the Greek national economy, being the first day since 2010 for…
Though average person gives little thought to their breakfast banana, the widely consumed fruit represents a long history of economic, political, environmental and social injustices in the global trade market. Plantation workers across South and Central America have been routinely exploited to provide low prices to consumers around the world. As early as the…