A poor education ranking in the latest international PISA report failed to humble the country’s top education official, who instead hailed the outcome as a “great triumph.”
Tag: growth
The central urban areas of Israel are a proven Silicon Valley success in the Middle East. But the country must find ways to bring the high-tech industry to the north and south.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 NEW ISIS OFFENSIVE IN KOBANI ISIS fighters have launched an assault “on all fronts” in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP. The offensive came hours after U.S. airplanes dropped ammunition and medical aid to besieged Kurdish fighters. It also came […]
TOKYO – A few months ago, Shin Sugimoto, Human Resources director at Bristol-Myers Squibb in Tokyo, revolutionized the traditional methods of recruitment in Japan. Instead of automatically promoting the most experienced man, as it is traditionally done – who had patiently been waiting for his turn for years – Sugimoto proposed to choose the next […]
RABAT – Like Asia did in the second half of the 20th century, Africa can move up to the economic big leagues only if it can manage to industrialize and learn to increase its productivity. The future of the continent as a whole, notes economist François Fadi Farra, will not depend on one single economic […]
HINDUSTAN TIMES, INDIA TODAY, TIMES OF INDIA (India), REUTERS, AFP, BBC Worldcrunch DELHI – Figures were released Friday showing India’s economy grew at its slowest pace in a decade during the 2012-13 financial year. Low business confidence, slumping investment, high inflation and weak export demand from Western countries were blamed for the bleak performance, which […]
–Editorial- BEIJING – It is a well-known fact that Chinese people don’t like to spend money. Since the 1998 financial crisis, China’s policy makers have been trying to expand domestic demand, and in particular Chinese consumption, to let the “caged tiger” loose. In other words, it is time that people dig into their savings. Since […]
AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, AAP (Australia) Worldcrunch SYDNEY – It’s not called the “Lucky Country” for nothing. Australia’s resource-rich economy continued to expand last quarter, extending the country’s run of 21 years of uninterrupted growth. Fourth-quarter GDP grew by 0.6% from the previous quarter, and 3.1% from a year earlier according to the […]
MAKASSAR – The nostalgic traveler who goes to Indonesia with the idea of walking in the footsteps of Joseph Conrad and living out their own Spice Route literary adventures will be stunned by the sheer luxury of Makassar’s airport. A symbol of Indonesia’s rapid modernization and economic growth, this city of 1.5 million inhabitants does […]
GDP v. Happy Planet Index? Some New Year’s number crunching from Moscow, comparing life in cold and warm climates, rich and poor countries, free and less free societies.
SANTIAGO – Enrique Peña Nieto hasn’t stopped moving. Since he took over as president of Mexico, two weeks ago, he has signed enough documents and made enough promises to keep his government busy for the whole six years they have in front of them. In his inaugural address, he laid out a 13-point plan with […]
MOSCOW – Seeking to guarantee greater energy and food security for its population, China is coming up against serious limitations. Just look at the basic numbers: the country only has 8% of the world’s energy reserves, and only 11% of the world’s arable land – yet, it is providing for 19% of the planet’s population. […]
CAIXIN MEDIA, CHINA DAILY (China), BOSTON CONSULTING GROUP (USA) Worldcrunch BEIJING– China’s middle class will triple in the next 10 years, according to a new report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). By 2020, it should have 280 million affluent consumers, representing 35% of the country’s consumption and 5% of the world’s total consumption. Photo […]
REUTERS, AFP, DIE WELT (Germany) Worldcrunch SINGAPORE — Held back by the financial crisis in Europe, world trade will grow by a meager 2.5 percent this year, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Friday. Reuters reports the WTO cut the 2012 estimate (originally set at 3.7 percent growth in April). “I see the risk […]
-Analysis- SÃO PAULO – Under Dilma Rousseff’s government, Brazil is now slated to grow at a slower rate than previously forecast. What has happened? Simply put: the current economic model has stopped working, says Samuel Pessôa, researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Economics at the prestigious FGV university. His widely debated article, (which predates the […]