Today is Liberation Day in South Korea. This is the anniversary of the day that Japan surrendered to the United States at the end of World War II and South Korea once again became a free and independent country. This is also a day on which the president of South Korea often issues pardons to many of those who have run afoul of the law. These pardons have often been controversial because some recipients have been close confidants of the president or powerful members of South Korean society or bot

Mitt Romney’s running mate, Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, is a self-styled disciple of the late Jack Kemp, the buoyant conservative Republican who played a major role in shaping the political agenda in the last quarter of the 20th century. The relationship was real. Ryan worked for Kemp as a speechwriter and at his research group; Kemp’s granddaughter was an intern in his protg’s congressional office. Like his mentor, Ryan is passionate, exuberant, intellectually stimulating and devoid

The recent Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development focused world attention on building the future we want. On the occasion of International Youth Day, we should remember that we have a very precious resource in providing for a sustainable future, namely our young people.Over 60 percent of the world’s youth live in Asia and the Pacific, which translates into more than 750 million young women and men aged 15 to 24 years. They represent a key asset for the countries of our regio

The worst economy since the Great Depression and you might think at least one of the candidates would come up with a few big ideas for how to get us out of it.But you’d be wrong. Neither candidate wants to take any chances by offering any large, serious proposals. Both are banking instead on negative campaigns that convince voters the other guy would be worse.President Obama has apparently decided against advancing any bold ideas for what he’d do in the second term, even if he has a Congress tha

NEWPORT BEACH ― The conventional wisdom about the November presidential election in the United States is only partly correct. Yes, economic issues will play a large role in determining the outcome. But the next step in the argument ― that the winner of an increasingly ugly contest will have the luxury of pursuing significantly different policies from his opponent ― is much more uncertain.By the time the next presidential term starts in January 2013, and contrary to the current narratives advance

BERKELEY ― However bad you think the global economy is today in terms of the business cycle, that is only one lens through which to view the world. In terms of global life expectancy, total world wealth, the overall level of technology, growth prospects in emerging economies, and global income distribution, things look rather good, while on still other dimensions ― say, global warming or domestic income inequality and its effects on countries’ social solidarity ― they look bad.Even on the busine

NEW YORK ― The horror has become almost routine. This time, the massacre site was a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, where accused shooter James Holmes murdered and injured dozens of moviegoers. In 1999, the scene was nearby Columbine High School. By some estimates, there are more than 20 mass shootings per year in the United States. And always the same question: Why?When the U.S. is compared to the rest of the world, one reason becomes obvious: while America may not have more homicidally insa

A speculative bubble is a social epidemic whose contagion is mediated by price movements. News of price increase enriches the early investors, creating word-of-mouth stories about their successes, which stir envy and interest. The excitement then lures more and more people into the market, which causes prices to increase further, attracting yet more people and fueling “new era” stories, and so on, in successive feedback loops as the bubble grows. After the bubble bursts, the same contagion fuels