DUBLIN ― The greatest and most undeniable economic achievement of the euro is to have saved the European economy from fracturing in the economic and financial crisis unleashed by the collapse of Lehman Brothers. We know from the example of the 1930s how tempted national governments are to believe in times of economic crisis that devaluation and protectionism will serve the interests of their electors, and how devastating it is for all involved when national governments succumb to that temptation

Some self-styled “pro-growth centrists” in the Democratic Party are worried the president is going too far in emphasizing widening inequality. They “wish the administration’s focus was on growth over fairness,” says the highly respected National Journal.They’re wrong. Fairness isn’t inconsistent with growth. It’s essential to it. The only way the economy can grow and create more jobs is if prosperity is more widely shared.For years, conservative “supply-side” economists have told America not to

Now that it’s a virtual certainty Mitt Romney will be the Republican presidential nominee, and all the other candidates have likely dozed off with the rest of us during this preliminary series of political skirmishes, it’s time to wipe the sleep from our eyes and get ready for presidential playoffs. What should be included in Romney’s tactical playbook? Here are a few suggestions:― The world isn’t the same as it was when President Obama was elected at the outset of the economic crisis. The whiny

Indonesia may have lost a lot more than the opportunity to see Lady Gaga when she canceled her June 3 concert in Jakarta last weekend. The episode could mark the beginning of the end for Indonesia’s civil liberties as radical groups continue unabated in their assault on the nation’s freedoms. Those who care about their freedom should speak up and fight to defend it rather than busily trying to distance themselves from Lady Gaga and whatever it is they believe she represents through her songs and

PALO ALTO ― Elections often turn on the state of the economy, especially in hard times. When growth and jobs are down, voters throw out incumbents ― whether Spanish leftists, French rightists, or Dutch centrists. The United States is no exception. Three years into the Great Depression, Herbert Hoover was trounced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1980, following a severe bout of stagflation, Ronald Reagan routed Jimmy Carter.At the same time, economic performance depends to a considerable extent

Standing on a high bluff above the Yellow Sea, it was impossible to overlook the spectacle taking place below. Two dozen Chinese fishing boats, each one flying the big red national flag, were steaming into South Korean waters, in search of the sea’s bountiful blue crabs, anchovies and croakers.They hadn’t made it far when two South Korean coast guard battle cruisers, big guns on deck, came into view from the south, powering at full speed toward the fishing boats. Suddenly the lead ship’s captain

Our long wait for firm and concrete measures to stop the huge waste of taxpayers money on fuel and electricity subsidies has turned out to be futile as what Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced through a live television broadcast on Tuesday evening was nothing more than a weak appeal for energy conservation.Utterly inadequate institutional capacity will be the biggest barrier to the implementation of the five measures scheduled to start Friday.The half-baked measures include g

As people grow old, they tend to develop a divided personality. A case in point is ex-President Chiang Kai-shek. After he lost the Chinese Civil War and moved his government from Nanjing to Taipei, he assigned his Kuomintang its third task for the Chinese Revolution. The first task, of course, was to topple the alien Manchu government in Beijing. The Kuomintang which Dr. Sun Yat-sen founded succeeded in creating the Republic of China in 1912, but China was a divided country with warlords ruling

TOKYO ― China is now engaged in bitter disputes with the Philippines over Scarborough Shoal and Japan over the Senkaku Islands, both located far beyond China’s 200-mile-wide territorial waters in the South China Sea. Indeed, so expansive are China’s claims nowadays that many Asians are wondering what will satisfy China’s desire to secure its “core interests.” Are there no limits, or does today’s China conceive of itself as a restored Middle Kingdom, to whom the entire world must kowtow?So far, C

To see the results of self-defeating U.S. immigration policies, you need only open your browser to www.canadavisa.com. There, you’ll see a shrewd neighbor fishing for talent at U.S. expense. At the top of the website, in large print, is the question: “Currently on an H1B Visa or otherwise working or studying in the United States?” There is nothing subtle about the appeal. Canada is seeking skilled foreigners who’ve grown frustrated with the U.S. visa gantlet, which can take a decade for the luck

Choosing a worthy president and commander in chief is not a casual task for voters.Those laboring to compare and contrast President Obama and Mitt Romney on war and foreign policy have a vexing assignment.Obama’s record invites approval and stirs frustration at the same time. He is working to leave Afghanistan, but not fast enough. He recently won support from NATO on a 2014 departure date to follow handing over security responsibilities to Afghan forces in 2013.To its credit, the Obama White Ho

This past week South Korea hosted the APEC education summit in Gyeongju ― a certain nod to Korea’s recent rise in the international arena with events such as the 2010 G20 summit and the nuclear summit hosted last month. Korea is making waves in respect to its educational system with statements of affirmation from such luminaries as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and U.S. President Obama. There are naysayers from within the “trenches” of Korean education who challenge this grand rhetoric, how

The curtain has been raised on the 19th National Assembly. The public has high expectations for the new parliament as the legislative procedure for contentious bills has been changed to promote inter-party compromise and prevent unsavory brawls among lawmakers.Yet the behavior of the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party apparently has not changed much. They are reenacting the familiar haggling over the distribution of the chairmanships of the Assembly’s 18 standin

Not a day passes these days without corruption scandals grabbing headlines. On a daily basis, the media reports on corruption allegations involving presidential confidants, government officials, savings bank owners, police officers, etc. So much so that we are getting numb to corruption.For many years, Korea has been committed to fighting corruption. Successive governments have made earnest efforts to crack down on it. As a result of a continued anti-corruption drive, Korean society has become m

May 31 is Ocean Day, instituted in memory of Admiral Jang Bo-go. On this day we think about the value and meaning of the sea while remembering Jang, who established Cheonghaejin Base to advance Silla’s sea trade with Asian countries.The sea has been the stage of glory and disgrace for many countries and peoples in world history. Those who held sway over the sea ruled the world, and the maritime power of a country meant its national power. Originally the Korean people held affection for the sea.

While I studied at teachers’ college, I dreamt of being a good teacher who played a small part in making our society better, and I also wanted to enjoy my free time reading English literature. I vividly remember how elated I was when I became an English teacher at a public school. However, my teacher’s life was very different from what I had expected. I was too busy to talk about a better society while working with accumulated paperwork and teaching textbook English for exams. I could not even f

Japan’s economy has been in a deep funk for two decades. China is in desperate need of a new economic and political model. And yet Korea keeps going from strength to strength, and is on track to overtake Japan’s income per capita.Korea’s economic catch-up has been nothing short of miraculous. Its income per capita has jumped from less than 20 percent of Japan’s four decades ago to 90 percent today. The catch-up vis-a-vis the U.S. is equally impressive ― from about 10 percent of U.S. income per c

This past week South Korea hosted the APEC education summit in Gyeongju -- a certain nod to Korea’s recent rise in the international arena with events such as the 2010 G20 summit and the nuclear summit hosted last month. Korea is making waves in respect to its educational system with statements of affirmation from such luminaries as U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and U.S. President Obama. There are naysayers from within the “trenches” of Korean education who challenge this grand rhetoric, ho

WASHINGTON ― It’s a classic case of brinkmanship bargaining: Iran and the West, each seeking to squeeze concessions from the other side, have decided to continue their nuclear negotiations on June 17, a few weeks before a punishing new round of sanctions takes effect. The deadlock was described at the conclusion of Thursday’s negotiating session in Baghdad by Catherine Ashton, the EU’s chief diplomat and the West’s spokesperson: “It is clear that we both want to make progress, and that there is

PARIS ― The euro, many now believe, will not survive a failed political class in Greece or escalating levels of unemployment in Spain: just wait another few months, they say, the European Union’s irresistible collapse has started.Dark prophecies are often wrong, but they may also become self-fulfilling. Let’s be honest: playing Cassandra nowadays is not only tempting in a media world where “good news is no news”; it actually seems more justified than ever. For the EU, the situation has never app