Third Quarter 2014

Third Quarter 2014

Let's Make a Deal

China Syndrome. by Charles Castaldi

The Pragmatic Case for a Universal Basic Income

Where liberals meet libertarians. by Ed Dolan

Thailand, Unraveling

Class warfare. by Vikram Nehru and Nadia Bulkin

The Blockbuster Syndrome

More is more? by Frank Rose

The Cost of Global Fuel Subsidies

Gas for nine cents a gallon? by Lucas Davis

Breaking Through

The mother of all trade pacts. by Lydia DePillis

The Second Machine Age

Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee on what happens when robots do most of the work.

He Shot an Arrow Through the Air

Abe’s report card. by Ross DeVol

Reality Check

Bear trap. by Clifford G. Gaddy and Barry W. Ickes

Institute News

Busy, busy.

 
Summary of this Issue

In this issue of the Milken Institute Review, charles castaldi, a former NPR reporter in Central America, explains how a Nicaraguan strongman and Chinese billionaire are planning to dig a $50 billion canal that will eclipse its rival to the south. "The decision to move forward on a project of this scale took a lot of time to make, of course," allows Castaldi. "Well, not really: the speed with which the concession was granted would make those who have been struggling obtain approval to build the 36-inch Keystone XL pipeline for the last six years green with envy."

Also in this issue: a report card on Abenomics, the Japanese prime minister's Hail Mary play to jolt the economy out of its rut; an analysis of the emerging Trans Pacific Partnership, "the most ambitious trade agreement the United States" has ever negotiated; an attack on the prevailing wisdom that Hollywood's road to success will be paved with ever-fewer, ever-more-expensive mega-movies; an argument for a no-strings-attached, "universal basic income approach" to reducing poverty; an explanation of why Russia's slippage into economic stagnation won't be easy to reverse; an estimate of the waste created by subsidies in countries that make gasoline as cheap as 9 cents a gallon at the pump; and an analysis of the unraveling of Thailand's economy and polity – and how it might be reversed.