Why Mongolia and North Dakota Aren’t Economic Miracles

Resource-Rich Regions Are Like Horse Milk—They Taste Strong Before Quickly Going Sour

Where does an economist who works in the Pacific Rim go on vacation? This summer, I chose Mongolia, and not only because it is remote, interesting, a bit exotic, and has beautiful glaciated mountains. I also chose it for having a reputation for economic potential.

I went with some preconceptions. For one thing, I had read that ayrag, home-fermented horse milk, was widely consumed and not for the faint of heart. For another, I had also read that investors were high on the Mongolian economy, an economy with a 10-fold increase …

By Jerry Nickelsburg | November 7, 2016

Can Hawaii Be America’s Bridge to Asia—and the World?

Location, Economy, and Culture Might Make the Aloha State Invaluable in the Pacific Century

By Sara Catania | October 8, 2016

As Asia continues its rapid advance in the global economy, the resources of Hawaii—as well as its strategic geography—uniquely position it as a portal into the future of relations between …

Don’t You Dare Speak Ill of Thailand’s King

Even a Facebook Joke About the Monarch, Entering His Eighth Decade of Rule, Could Send You to Prison for Decades

By Junya 'Lek' Yimprasert | August 8, 2016

Since the military coup of 2006, the Thai government has prosecuted hundreds of Thai citizens who made comments about the monarchy, under the authority of Thailand’s lèse-majesté laws. The sentences …

Just Another Military Coup Monday in Bangkok

Thailand’s Political Turmoil Has Slowed Traffic and Complicated My Sartorial Choices. But For My Family and Most Everyone Else, Life Goes On.

by Ema Bhakdi | June 3, 2014

I’ve been in Bangkok through the 2008 “yellow shirts” demonstrations against the government of now-deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, through the 2010 “red shirts” protests that supported him, and, as …

Is Singapore the Perfect Country for Our Times?

The Island Nation Has Mastered the Art of Profiting Off Globalization—Even At the Cost of Authenticity and a Sense of Place

by Andrés Martinez | May 19, 2014

You land at Changi Airport after flying for what seems a lifetime, and you’re naturally disoriented, even before you hit the customs booths that feature bowls of mints, dire warnings …

Bring It On, China

Geoff Dyer of the ‘Financial Times’ on Why China Will Ultimately Fail to Unseat the U.S. and Dominate the World

by Sarah Rothbard | February 14, 2014

“I’m the guy who went to live in China and came away believing in the U.S.,” former Financial Times Beijing bureau chief Geoff Dyer told a Zócalo audience.

Dyer, the author …

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