Three Key Shapers of the Global Economy in 2022
December 21, 2021 | The Hill
To say 2021 was a “challenging year” is the mother of all understatements. Like 2020 before it and 2022 to come, the economic and political environment both in the U.S. and across the globe will be heavily impacted by the pandemic; the cost of living and wages; cultural and societal change; and citizens’ relationship with their political systems and institutions.... more
Nearshoring---Panacea, Quick Fix or Something in Between?
November 22, 2021 | The Hill
Ever since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, proponents of trade and investment liberalization have found themselves in the gun sights, metaphorically speaking, of both the left and the right. Globalization has been their piñata. Both Republicans and Democrats have adopted and inward-looking, populist orientation with corresponding policies, resulting in a real threat to free trade.... more
The future of work: The pandemic has changed how we labor; where do we go from here?
November 12, 2021 | The Baltimore Sun
The continuing pandemic has dramatically altered the nature of work — where, when and how we labor. And within this environment, it is “remote” work that has brought the most significant change.... more
Do the well-off really not pay their fair share of taxes?
October 2, 2021 | The Hill
Donning an expensive “Tax the Rich” gown at the $35,000 per-ticket Met Gala, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) publicity-seeking, hypocritical stunt serves as a metaphor for the disdain many populists on the left and right seem to hold towards the well-off.... more
Business with Cuba won’t bring democracy. And U.S. companies can find better markets
September 12, 2021 | The Miami Herald
For American companies that aspire to do business in Cuba, the recent crackdown by the Cuban government on mass protests now places that hope not on the back burner but off the burner altogether.... more
Local Content Regulations: Back to The Future?
September 8, 2021 | Latin Trade
Trade and investment liberalization has been one of the hallmarks of the global economy for the last sixty years. Both industrialized nations and emerging markets have come to realize that the positive features of neoliberal economic reform, such as lowering tariffs and removing non-tariff barriers, outweigh the negative features of a free market approach.... more
Brazil Needs Economic Reform Policies That Ignite Business
August 2, 2021 | Latin Trade
Slammed by COVID-19, can Brazil’s economy pivot? As Economy Minister Paulo Guedes frankly admitted last month, Brazil came close to fiscal collapse; but the economy is now in recovery. To ensure things stay on track emergency pandemic assistance for informal workers and the unemployed will continue for 90 days, as the entire country should have received a least one dose of a vaccine by then.... more
Do Men or Women Make Better Corporate Leaders? The Evidence to Date
July 19, 2021 | The Miami Herald
One of the hallmarks of corporate leadership over the last two decades has been the ascendancy of women to the top ranks of major companies. Until 1972, no Fortune 500 company had a female CEO. Katherine Graham of the Washington Post was the first. Today, 41 Fortune 500 companies have female CEOs, including Citigroup, Walgreens, CVS, GM, Clorox and General Dynamics.... more
Welcome to the USA! A First World Nation with a Third World Rail System
July 4, 2021 | The Hill
...anyone who has traveled on high speed rail (HSR) in Japan, France, or China cannot help but feel embarrassment by America’s passenger rail system. Even Uzbekistan, not exactly one of the world’s most advanced economies, has a high speed rail line that has reduced train travel between Tashkent, the capital, and Bukhara, the country’s fifth largest city, from seven hours to a little more than three. By comparison closer to home, train travel between Washington, DC, and Charlotte, North Carolina is an 8-hour trip on Amtrak. The Paris-Bordeaux high speed rail route—the same equivalent distance—takes just two hour.... more
How to Build Back Better—Public-Private Partnerships
May 22, 2021 | The Hill
“Infrastructure”—a high priority of the Biden Administration--is one of the very few areas of public policy where the prospects for bipartisanship are favorable. After all, who doesn’t want to improve our highways, bridges, and broadband access?.... more
The Challenge of Human Capital and Economic Development in Guyana
May 3, 2021 | Latin Trade
The Guyanese highly value education, and that bodes well as the country seeks to capitalize on its oil and gas largesse and finally build the nation that all Guyanese have hoped for since independence in 1970..... more
Hard truths and tough love for the American economy
April 16, 2021 | The Hill
Despite the robust economic recovery, populists – Republican and Democrat alike – are aligned in harping on the trade deficit and the alleged hollowing out of America’s manufacturing sector. They are infuriated and exasperated that, in their view, the United States doesn’t make things anymore; that we cannot compete and that we need to bring back and add more manufacturing jobs while wiping out our deficits and producing surpluses..... more
Guyana, Beyond Oil
March 21, 2021 | Oil Now
Many believe that oil is the magic bullet that will hit the bullseye of prosperity for Guyana, dramatically increasing revenue, growth and economic development (regardless of how and where that largesse is spent)..... more
To Improve our Workforce, Businesses Must Expand Apprenticeships
March 18, 2021 | Miami Today
While so many of us are awaiting our first or second vaccine inoculation, Miami’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has already received three shots in the arm. First, last December there was Miami Mayor Francis Suarez’s “How can I help?” Twitter response to a query regarding bringing Silicon Valley to our city. These four words generated over 2 million organic impressions..... more
Is Biden pursuing a 'third way' trade policy?
February 2021 | The Hill
American trade policy is at an inflection point. Those who champion a muscular, tariff-driven, “America First” variant of former President Trump’s trade policies will be deeply disappointed by the Biden administration’s posture. At the same time, advocates of the trade-liberalizing, free market orientation of the Clinton and Bush administrations will be disheartened, as well..... more
It is “Facilitation” that Makes Trade Agreements Work
February 8, 2021 | Latin Trade
Less anyone think the Biden Administration’s trade policies will revert to a traditional, pre-Trump posture, one need only consider the January 25th executive order requiring the federal government to implement “Made-in-America” procurement policies, including $600 billion in contracting..... more