The Korea Herald

[Robert J. Shiller] How to protect workers without trade tariffs

Jul 19, 2018

According to a Washington Post/Schar School poll of Americans published on July 11, only 39 percent of respondents approved of US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on foreign countries, while 56 percent were opposed. But, while it’s good news that a majority of Americans oppose their president on this key issue, Trump is plunging ahead, apparently thinking the public will like the tariffs better when they are in place.It is a puzzle why even 39 percent support these policies. Ever s
[Noah Feldman] Search for logic of Helsinki

Jul 19, 2018

How’s this for a thought experiment the day after President Donald Trump provoked bipartisan disgust over his performance with Russian President Vladimir Putin: Try to think charitably and ascribe rational, noncorrupt motives to political actors.　Looking at domestic politics, Trump may simply think that any acknowledgment on his part of Russian efforts to elect him discredits his presidency. Looking internationally, it would be possible to explain Trump’s behavior as an expression of a radically
[Daniel Moss] How strong is China’s economy? GDP alone won’t say

Jul 19, 2018

It’s the go-to measure of an economy. But sometimes gross domestic product doesn’t tell you much.　A glance at China’s second-quarter GDP, released Monday, might suggest things are holding up pretty well in the world’s second-largest economy. The 6.7 percent increase from a year ago -- just barely below the prior period -- points to a China that weathered the early skirmishes of a trade war, continued its transition to a consumption-driven economy and isn’t suffering too much from a state campaig
[Kim Myong-sik] What soldiers should do during domestic disturbance

Jul 18, 2018

The present power holders in Korea like to refer to the turmoil in 2016 as the “candlelight revolution.” President Moon Jae-in and people around him may want to use the word revolution for its strong political appeal, but not many would agree that the monthslong protests in Seoul that eventually brought them to power deserves that title in the bumpy annals of our republic.　Tens of thousands of people gathered at Gwanghwamun Square on weekend evenings with candles in their hands to denounce Presi
[David Ignatius] Trump’s stunning answer to ‘who do you believe?’

Jul 18, 2018

US President Donald Trump was doing pretty well in Helsinki, really, laying out a modest but achievable agenda for improving US-Russia relations. And then came the final question about whether Trump believed his own intelligence chiefs or Russian President Vladimir Putin -- and in his weird, waffling answer, you could almost hear the fabric of his presidency rip at the seam. Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press was the reporter who asked Trump bluntly: “who do you believe” about Russian elect
[Douglas Frantz] We’ve unleashed AI. Now we need a treaty to control it

Jul 18, 2018

Fifty years ago this month, in the midst of the Cold War, nations began signing an international treaty to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. Today, as artificial intelligence and machine learning reshape every aspect of our lives, the world confronts a challenge of similar magnitude and it needs a similar response.　There is a danger in pushing the parallel between nuclear weapons and AI too far. But the greater risk lies in ignoring the consequences of unleashing technologies whose goals are n
[Aryeh Neir] Long human rights march

Jul 18, 2018

There has been a lot of bad news lately on the human rights front. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has resumed airstrikes on his people, killing opposition fighters and civilians alike. Poland’s ruling Law and Justice party continues to make headway in its quest to destroy judicial independence. The United States Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s travel ban, which prevents immigrants, refugees, and visa holders from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen from
[Andy Mukherjee] Harley, Trump and Thailand’s $51 billion trade gamble

Jul 18, 2018

Democracies look to voters for validation of their economic policies. For Thailand’s military junta, the affirmation is coming from Beijing, bankers and the likes of Harley-Davidson.　Harley’s decision to build a new Thai factory to supply Southeast Asia should be reassuring to Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha. The former army chief, who ousted a civilian government in a 2014 coup, has a $51 billion, five-year plan to mold the country’s eastern seaboard -- already a large manufacturing hub -- int
[Noah Smith] If you love capitalism, worry about small business

Jul 17, 2018

Capitalism has lost some of its luster in the US. The percentage of Americans aged 18 to 29 who say they support capitalism checks in at only 39 percent.　Other polls find similar results, and anecdotes seem to support the story. Meanwhile, openly socialist candidates are winning primary elections in the Democratic Party.　Why is this happening? The fading memory of the Cold War might be part of it. Young people also might simply be more idealistic than adults, and less accustomed to the business
[Kim Seong-kon] A passage to India and Korea

Jul 17, 2018

Reading Salman Rushdie’s novels, one can find some striking similarities between Korea and India. For example, both countries were victims of imperialism, colonized by Japan and Britain, respectively. Right after liberation, both countries were divided by ideological differences, whether political or religious. In both countries, rampant attitudes of moral superiority and self-righteousness justified hate and massacre. Violence and terrorism were legitimated in the name of the “grand cause.” Tod
[David Fickling] BASF playing China matchmaker should worry US

Jul 17, 2018

If you want a look at how China is playing the economic diplomacy of its simmering trade war with the US, consider BASF SE.　The world’s most profitable listed chemical company agreed on July 9 to spend as much as $10 billion on a giant plant in Guangdong province, at a ceremony in Berlin attended by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.　The announcement was the centerpiece of a series of paper partnerships between Chinese companies and pillars of German industry last we
[Robert J. Fouser] Going beyond the minimum wage

Jul 17, 2018

The recent announcement that the government plans to raise the minimum wage by 11 percent to 8,350 won ($7.40) next year has sent shock waves through the business community. Small business rallied to protest the move, saying that it would put them out of business. The government plans to raise the minimum wage to 10,000 won an hour by 2020 in the hopes of promoting economic equality and stimulating consumption.　Korea is not the only country to face a debate over the minimum wage. In the 2016 US
[Michael Abramowitz and Sarah Repucci] Americans still want their government to support democracy abroad

Jul 17, 2018

A flood of commentaries concluding that Americans are more inward-looking, indifferent to international engagement and skeptical about the country’s obligation to influence change in repressive environments might lead us to believe Americans are cooling on democracy.　These perceived signs of neo-isolationism have been reinforced by a president who uncritically lauds leaders like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un while picking fights with democratic allies like Angela Merkel and Justin Trudeau. And
[David Ignatius] Better relations with Russia a worthy goal. But at what price?

Jul 16, 2018

As the Helsinki summit approaches, President Trump appears to be on the verge of acquiescing to the belligerent strategy and behavior that Moscow has been pursuing for decades. The summit will be a culmination of Trump’s often-proclaimed eagerness for better relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He’s not my enemy. And hopefully someday maybe he’ll be a friend,” Trump said Thursday at a press conference in Brussels. Critics ask: At what cost, and for what reason? Trump obviously relis
[Tyler Cowen] What’s holding Mexico’s economy back

Jul 16, 2018

With the election of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as president of Mexico, the perennial question resurfaces: Might Mexico see a higher rate of growth? Its economy has grown at a rate of about 2 percent per year for about a quarter century, about half the pace of other emerging nations. 　The sad reality is that the new Mexican regime probably cannot improve its economic performance unless it can address basic problems with education and productivity.　Mexican economic policy gets many things wrong,