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“Sitting on expansive mineral reserves, and sharing a long border with the world's second-biggest economy, Mongolia long looked like an appealing place to invest. Its economy grew by 17 percent in 2011, as its mines churned out huge amounts of coal and copper to meet Chinese demand. Ominously, though, government spending rose by 56 percent the same year. With interest rates abnormally low, Mongolia was one of many not-so-creditworthy countries able to borrow on attractive terms as investors pursued higher yields.” David Shipley, Bloomberg. Shipley looked into a very interesting country and economy, Mongolia. In his article, he mentions that the abundance of natural resources and the close proximity to the largest economy in the world were two main reasons for the skyrocketing economy for Mongolia in 2011. Shipley argues that the Mongolian government overreached in their efforts to expand the economy by building up cities, throwing money into the economy, and building up foreign assets. These same investments led to the demise of the same booming economy who entered a widespread recession the next year in 2012. I agree with Shipley, in the sense that economies should grow as naturally as possible so governments and citizens can plan when and where to place their money.

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How has economy fared since Brexit vote?

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How has economy fared since Brexit vote?

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Tia Pogue
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36956418
"Many economists prior to the referendum had been predicting an immediate and significant impact on the UK economy and consumer confidence should the country vote to leave the EU. But so far these predictions have not come to pass."

The UK economy has not been impacted as much as many had predicted. While some economic measures have decreased, others have increased. For instance, as of December, the Major Purchase Index was five points higher than the year before, although the consumer confidence index was still lower than in the previous year. The pound fell dramatically after the Brexit vote in June but has recently been recovering; these fluctuations have hurt the nation in some ways (e.g. has increased import costs for manufactures) but have helped in others (e.g. the tourism industry has benefited). Other numbers, such as the unemployment rate, have changed since the Brexit vote, but Brexit has not yet been isolated as the cause.

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Tia Pogue

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Michelle Lopez
http://www.cubabusinessreport.com/cuban-economic-performance-2016-to-2017/
"Cuba's lack of hard currency, low fuel supply, the US embargo against Cuba (which cost the economy $4.6 billion last year), and low incomes based on exports are responsible for the shrinking of the numbers for 2016."
In this article,  Cuba's sharp decline in economic performance is broken down into its causing factors, mainly focusing on the economic distress in Venezuela and its impact on Cuba's economy as well as the shrinking commodity prices. Due to Venezuela's economic disaster, Venezuela as been sending fewer and fewer shipments of crude oil to Cuba resulting in a slow on production for products in Cuba as the crude oil acts as a implicit cost in a large part of the Cuban economy. Additionally the Cuban medical internationalism program has received fewer contracts with Venezuela, which also has begun to contribute to the reduction in the country's economic performance as a large part of the economy is made up of the income sourced by the contracts. (http://www.cubabusinessreport.com/cuban-medical-internationalism/ separate article that gets more into the specifics of the contract). Overall, because Venezuela's economy has taken a hit and Cuba has such strong economic connections with that country Cuba's economy has also begun to suffer and needs to focus on efforts to increase the GDP that are interdependent of economic issues in other countries.

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The Syrian Economy

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/alarabiya-studies/2013/04/01/Syria-s-frail-economy-before-and-after-the-revolution.html

"Large-scale destruction amid the protraction of the current civil war will continue to damage the Syrian economy over the coming decade," the BMI Research team argued in a recent report.”

In addition to being a humanitarian nightmare, the ongoing Syrian conflict has wreaked havoc the country’s economy. The damage that has been done to human capital and infrastructure could diminish the future economic growth going forward. Even if the conflict ends within the next couple of years the Syrian economy could be experiencing the negative affects that it will leave behind.

According to the article, the Syrian economy is expected to contract by 3.9% annually from 2016 and 2019. This will drag the economy to its early 1990s size, diminishing all past progress and growth.

Since 2011, each component of Syria’s GDP have plummeted including two of their most prominent aspects, manufacturing and agriculture. According to Business Insider, all of Syrian’s exported goods have lost 80% of their real value from 2010 to 2015.

International sanctions also played a major role in the deterioration of the Syrian economy creating the country’s commercial imbalance with the drop in exports, especially in oil. Oil is one of Syria's most prominent contributors to their GDP, but the overall exportation and output have dropped significantly in recent years. The oil output decreased from 431,000 to 280,000 barrels as a result of the economic sanctions imposed on the Syrian government.

It is projected that the Syrian economy will not return to any type of growth pattern until 2020. Syria will become increasingly reliant on external assistance, amid the depletion of their resources.

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Lexy BarlowTrump wants to renegotiate NAFTA — here's what you need to knowElena Holodny“US multinationals, which make up a big chunk of the S&P 500, have moved operations into Mexico since the implementation of NAFTA at least in part to keep production costs down (via cheaper labor costs there) in order to stay competitive in the global market. Lower labor costs have then boosted profitability, after which share prices have risen. Unwinding this process — whether in Mexico or elsewhere — might bring back some jobs to the US. But goods would be more expensive to produce with US labor than with foreign labor. And the cost of labor in the US would probably rise, given that there is no longer much unemployment in the economy," wrote Higgins. "The pain for US [multinational enterprises] could conceivably be eased by tax cuts, but at the expense of a bigger fiscal deficit. The S&P 500 has benefited tremendously from globalization. Donald Trump should be careful what he wishes for." 	By altering NAFTA and acting to erect more trade protections to assist American manufacturers, the Trump Administration will produce results, both economically good and bad. The issues to consider are the levels of the stock market, the manufacturing job market, and the long term competitiveness of U.S. businesses. Whereas the labor market the labor market would benefit as a result of increased jobs on U.S. soil; however, the cost of such a policy would be higher consumer prices and decreased competitiveness in the long run.  Many of the benefits of open and free trade, like NAFTA, are longer term in nature and require sacrifice in the short run (higher levels of structural unemployment). Staying the course on free trade takes political courage, and it is unclear if the current administration will do so.  

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Lexy BarlowTrump wants to renegotiate NAFTA — here's what you need to knowElena Holodny“US multinationals, which make up a big chunk of the S&P 500, have moved operations into Mexico since the implementation of NAFTA at least in part to keep production costs down (via cheaper labor costs there) in order to stay competitive in the global market. Lower labor costs have then boosted profitability, after which share prices have risen. Unwinding this process — whether in Mexico or elsewhere — might bring back some jobs to the US. But goods would be more expensive to produce with US labor than with foreign labor. And the cost of labor in the US would probably rise, given that there is no longer much unemployment in the economy," wrote Higgins. "The pain for US [multinational enterprises] could conceivably be eased by tax cuts, but at the expense of a bigger fiscal deficit. The S&P 500 has benefited tremendously from globalization. Donald Trump should be careful what he wishes for." 	By altering NAFTA and acting to erect more trade protections to assist American manufacturers, the Trump Administration will produce results, both economically good and bad. The issues to consider are the levels of the stock market, the manufacturing job market, and the long term competitiveness of U.S. businesses. Whereas the labor market the labor market would benefit as a result of increased jobs on U.S. soil; however, the cost of such a policy would be higher consumer prices and decreased competitiveness in the long run.  Many of the benefits of open and free trade, like NAFTA, are longer term in nature and require sacrifice in the short run (higher levels of structural unemployment). Staying the course on free trade takes political courage, and it is unclear if the current administration will do so.  

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GDP surprise takes market to 6-month high, Sensex soars 241 points

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GDP surprise takes market to 6-month high, Sensex soars 241 points

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Ben Rosoff

http://www.thehindu.com/business/markets/gdp-surprise-takes-market-to-6month-high-sensex-soars-241-points/article17387969.ece

“'A surprise growth of 7.1 per cent in third quarter GDP data and no negative comments in Trump’s speech have given a renewed buying interest in the market. The impact of cash crunch seems over—estimated. Prima facie, the February auto sales numbers are looking better as discretionary spending is gradually picking up,' said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services."

This article discusses India's third quarter GDP data. It mentions specific companies and industries and offers explanations and causes of the information. One of the groups mentioned is the auto industry and how it gained up to 3.13 per cent due to sale numbers throughout February. Ultimately, the main focus of the article is that The Sensex is the highest it has been since September 2016, there was a GDP growth of 7.1% (which was larger than expected), and the cash issues as well as Trump's statements do not seem to be negatively impacting the economy.

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2014/11/19/the-shale-revolution-is-an-opportunity-to-jump-start-economic-growth-in-u-s/#552c110916a2

"The shale revolution is not just a temporary blip. It’s a true game changer for the U.S. economy, and its impact is only in the early stages. A year ago, we projected that shale energy could boost annual GDP by 2 to 4 percent ($380 billion to $690 billion) by 2020. Since then, development has continued in high gear, putting the United States on track to hit the upper end of that forecast."

In this article, the author talks about how shale oil impacted the US economy while it was being mined and how it will impact the economy in the future. It was predicted that the USA would have an annual GDP increase of 2-4% by 2020, and as time gois on it seems more likely that the final total will fall closer to 4% than 2%. Shale gas production has grown 51% per year since 2007, and oil production is growing even more. This will let us use our own resources before having to trade with other nations to pay for pricier oil.

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Bank of Japan raises economic growth forecasts, keeps policy unchanged

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Bank of Japan raises economic growth forecasts, keeps policy unchanged

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Alice Hickson
http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/30/bank-of-japan-raises-economic-growth-forecasts-keeps-policy-unchanged.html
"The Bank of Japan raised its economic growth forecasts on Tuesday, but kept its policy stance unchanged, as was widely expected in its latest policy review."

In the article, Leslie Shaffer examines the Bank of Japan's decision to raise its economic forecast. The previous prediction for economic growth was 1.3%, however, it was updated to 1.5% for the fiscal year 2017. The prediction for 2018 was raised as well. Japan's manufacturing and export appear to be making a promising recovery compared to what they've been in the past and right now Japan currently has the world's 3rd largest economy based on nominal GDP, so it will be interesting to see if they can keep up with the rapid growth of both the US and Chinese economies. After reading the article, I believe this is unlikely considering Japan lacks the raw materials and space that the Chinese and Americans have. In addition, inflation is showing indications of rising, which would drastically affect the economic forecast.

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https://www.nap.edu/read/1101/chapter/14

"We emphasize that technological innovation has been the historic engine of U.S. economic growth, and we argue that it is equally critical to future growth and competitiveness. "

In this article they discuss how technological innovation and high capital investments are the key to the continuing growth of the american economy. Ever since technological innovation began the growth rate in real income per person in the United States has been almost 2 percent per year. They also argue that technological innovation not only impacts the economic growth of the united states, but it also heavily impacts the productivity growth in the United states

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The Big Question for the U.S. Economy: How Much Room Is There to Grow?

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/24/upshot/the-big-question-for-the-us-economy-how-much-room-is-there-to-grow.html?action=click&contentCollection=Politics&module=RelatedCoverage&region=EndOfArticle&pgtype=article

“If officials at the Fed and in the Trump administration try to run the economy a little hot — to keep pursuing faster growth even as the economy gets close to or above potential G.D.P. — it would be a chance to do the reverse, to create a virtuous cycle. Trying it carries risks of its own — of inflation, and perhaps new financial bubbles. The alternative is to take the low-growth world we’ve been living in as an immutable fact of life, and get used to it.”

This article discusses how here has been slow growth recently in the past decade, but there is still room for the U.S. to grow due to “slack”. It begins with introducing how the economy is on track to meet the “potential GDP” of 4%, which President Trump has said he hopes to reach. The big question that was discussed was if there is enough room for the economy to grow or if the U.S. has reached its maximum output. The article explains types of slack in the economy: factory operation rate of only 75.5% of its potential, how about 15% of office space was vacant during late 2016, and that due to the recession many workers gave up on finding a job and were/are not in the labor force anymore.

Then, the article transitions to how the government is able to change this trend and help the country hit its maximum growth. It explains how by not quickly raising interest rates, growth will continue since there will be more demand in the loanable funds market. Although, if the U.S. is close to full capacity, it says that either the Fed will raise interest rates to slow growth or inflation will increase, which can negatively affect the economy. There isn’t a specific solution given, but the Trump Administration could likely try to grow the economy faster to reach the maximum GDP and get out of this slow growth cycle. Overall, the article demonstrates the importance of the loanable funds market and how it can be used by the government (interest rate, controlling inflation) to either slowly or quickly grow the economy based on the amount of room that it can grow.

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As Brazil's Economy Finally Starts Growing, Investors Worry About Lula 2018 (continued)

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As Brazil's Economy Finally Starts Growing, Investors Worry About Lula 2018 (continued)

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Rapoza talks about how in recent years, Brazil has undergone a terrible recession which saw its unemployment rates to triplicate. However, the country has began to reach the light at the end of the tunnel, as in the end of 2016 and the beginning of 2017, the stock market and unemployment rates have seen significant improvements. Rapoza adds that, at this point, any economic growth above zero is a sign of improvement for the country. There is just one issue with the country. This slight turn in the economy was mostly caused by the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff amidst a corruption scandal, which included the likes of the previous president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who is currently on the brink of being imprisoned. The problem Brazil faces is that, in the upcoming 2018 election, Lula might be eligible for once again running for the presidency. Although it may seem crazy that he would be elected, he is actually a very popular figure among the lower classes, so he cannot be completely ignored. Rapoza goes on to show the points of view of highly-ranked Brazilian bankers, who deeply fear the possibility of Lula being reelected, for the sake of the economy and the people. Finally, Rapoza concludes by explaining how it is almost impossible to predict how the economy will behave if Lula or a different president are elected, but the former is unlikely to cause any progress in the overall economy and national wealth.

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As Brazil Economy Finally Starts Growing, Investors Worry About Lula 2018 

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As Brazil Economy Finally Starts Growing, Investors Worry About Lula 2018 

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2017/02/22/as-brazil-economy-finally-gets-growing-investors-worry-about-lula-2018/#71c0b23d63a6
"Brazil is largely an overweight these days in U.S. mutual fund world. But there is a spark of concern out there that has less to do with the rising prices of Brazilian securities and more to do with the talk of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva returning to power in 2018."
This article was written by Kenneth Rapoza on February 22, 2017 by Forbes. Rapoza talks about how recently

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Nikki Benjamin

“As for that vaunted education, qualitatively, our “achievements” are positively shocking. In all international tests, Israeli students rate about 40th in the world. Israel has the biggest group of weak pupils among the developed nations. A third of Israeli children ranked in the lowest group in the international tests. The second-weakest was Hungary, with a 28% proportion of weak students. And remember that ultra-Orthodox pupils don’t even take the tests. If they had, they’d put Israel in a negative league of its own.”

This article talks about how Netanyahu savagely cut the Israeli budget in an attempt to salvage the nation after an economic crisis in 2002. The minimum income allowance was cut by 25% (and is still 22% below its 2002 level). Unemployment benefits were lowered by 50% (and today are still 24% below its 2002 level). Child allowances were halved and continued to drop, and are today 29% below the 2002 level. Fifteen years later, there have been some unintended consequences to Netanyahu’s extreme actions. Because the budget is so trimmed, the education in Israel is falling behind. As the quotes demonstrates, the education Israeli students are given is not up to par whatsoever. With less educated workers entering the workforce, the economy will not be able to grow as effectively

.

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Inequality and an Impossible American Dream

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Inequality and an Impossible American Dream

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https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/equality-of-opportunity/510227/

“The wealthy have benefited from the system that has helped create their wealth: the private schools, the elite colleges, and the growing salaries for those at the top. And they have little incentive to change it.”

Achieving the American Dream might not be as possible as it once was.  In the early twentieth century, one was more likely to surpass one’s parents in personal socioeconomic success.  However, three primary reasons have led to the inability for more-recent generations to sustain this trend.  For one, the inflation rate has slowed, thereby disabling many from being able to assume a greater proportion of total welfare.  Secondly, based upon long-term economic cycles, because the top 1% is gaining progressively more of the wealth distribution, fewer people at the bottom are receiving higher real salaries.  Thus, a wage gap in real dollars emerges between generations as children do not earn significantly more than their parents during working age.  Lastly, the wealthy also perpetuate societal class inertia.  The wealthy — by nature of greater affordability — have access to private schools and individualized education, higher-caliber colleges, safe neighborhoods, and optimal health care.  This disparity between accessibility to wealthy and middle-class families is amplified in magnitude both by wealth as opportunity and wealth as influence.  The wealthy will, on average, always be better off in the long term because wealthy families and their children will continue to receive the best educations which lead to the highest-salary jobs.  Thus, the wealthy continue to remain wealthy while those below have minimal social mobility, for lower-quality education tends to lead to lower-paying jobs.  As such, the wealthy outstrip those in the middle- and lower-class with regard to real income.  Secondly, wealth also permits a factor of societal influence because the wealthy can select (typically via congressional delegates) to avoid funding public programs such as public schooling and housing improvements because they do not benefit explicitly from these services.  As such, the wealthy perpetuate greater opportunity and can continue to leave those in the middle and bottom behind.

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China's Stock Market Crash: One Year Later

https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahsu/2016/07/13/chinas-stock-market-crash-one-year-later/2/#4e7c23935ca8
"Investors, particularly foreign investors, are nonplussed about China’s stock market troubles and have been loath to invest in Chinese equities. Further dampening market sentiment is the fact that the economy is facing mounting challenges to reform, due to high levels of corporate debt and lower levels of growth, in addition to the political challenge posed by vested interests."

This article sheds light on the improvements of the Chinese stock market crash (2015-2016) one year after. This article is an example of how the loanable funds market makes up the foundation of the economy. Since the country has a lot of debt, outside investors do not feel comfortable loaning the country money to help it get back on its feet. A year after the crash, the country was able to increase the growth of their economy, however since they are no longer a trustworthy system to invest money into, it is difficult for that growth to continue. This shows how human nature and incentives are the backbone to the economic system. Since the foreign investors no longer feel confident that they will be repaid there is not as much of a money flow into the country. This article is an example of how economic growth is tied with the loanable funds market as well as the credibility of borrowers in the market.

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What’s Holding Back U.S. Economic Growth?

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What’s Holding Back U.S. Economic Growth?

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http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/whats-holding-back-u-s-economic-growth/

"the path to robust economic growth — and higher wages for the working and middle classes — lies in encouraging businesses to take risks that lead to innovation, and having enough properly trained workers to hire in this knowledge-based economy."

The article I read was the text of an interview podcast between a student and Edward Conard, the author of The Upside of Inequality: How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class. Conard discusses how income redistribution, such as raising taxes on the wealthy to adjust income inequality, will actually end up hurting the middle class. He believes that the United States does not have a shortage of talent, but does have a shortage of properly trained talent. The most talented workers in the United States are a very scarce resource. Conard states this is because of improper education in school systems. He notes that people are not learning, "skills that are required to put your fellow man to work and to make him as productive as he can be." Productivity, which is essential to a strong and growing economy, is what the United States is lacking. This is important to note because in the end, when people are more productive, there will be more money for workers receive higher salaries.

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https://www.forbes.com/places/netherlands/

"2014 saw fragile GDP growth of 1% and a rise in most economic indicators. Growth picked up in 2015 as households boosted purchases through reduced saving. Drivers of growth included increased exports and business investments, as well as newly invigorated household consumption."

In recent years the Netherlands has had a bit of trouble with Economic growth especially throughout 2008 to 2014 due to the global financial crisis.This led to less household consumption for three consecutive years. The netherlands government tried many things to alter the economic growth course. Just to name a few: accelerating infrastructure programs, offering corporate tax breaks for employers to retain workers, and expanding export credits. Eventually, in 2015, the netherlands saw a pick up in economic growth starting to recover from its recession. This article corresponds to economic growth because it shows the Netherlands economy adjusting to global financial crisis and then fixing it by using the logical idea of transactions that were seen in the video we watched.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/world/africa/zimbabwe-robert-mugabe-cash-debit-cards.html

"The cash crunch remains so severe that the government started a media campaign this week to publicize the imminent introduction of so-called bond notes, paper notes that it says will be backed by the African Export-Import Bank and will be interchangeable with the American dollar. But most Zimbabweans already view the notes with deep distrust, suspecting a government ploy to reintroduce a local currency"

The situation in Zimbabwe is a perfect example of how economic instability can lead to mayhem and a total collapse of the entire economic system. The economy suffered a major recession, which caused the government to panic and print copious amounts of money, causing severe inflation and further pandemonium. Such levels of inflation made the Zimbabwean dollar essentially worthless, with a $100 trillion dollar note being worth approximately 35 U.S. cents. The article focuses on the aftermath of the collapse and the lack of trust that the people have in the government and economy, and how the country is trying to cope with this issue. The quote above is just one way in which the government is attempting to re-establish a stable economy after abandoning the Zimbabwean dollar. Their economy has improved after hitting rock bottom but is still has the second worst per capita GDP of 600, while the U.S. is at 52,800 as of 2014.

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https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-01-20/chinese-gdp-growth-drops-to-26-year-low-as-trump-trade-war-looms
"But although the Chinese economy has picked up again, there is no ground for exuberance. The Chinese economy is subject to massive uncertainties that could have a significant impact on its growth in 2017," he said, noting that " the biggest unknown, without question, is the looming trade war with the U.S."

Since the 1990's, China's GDP has steadily risen, putting it today in second place just beneath the US. However, with the countries final quarter GDP rate at 6.8 it ended the most recent year with an annual GDP growth rate of only 6.7%, its lowest yet in its past 26 years of continual growth. Economists are tying connections between the countries diminished growth with the election of US President Donald Trump. Now in office, Trump has stated his displeasure
with the Chinese economy claiming they are "currency manipulators", and has taken action furthering our two economies. Sources mention some of Trumps plans include raising tariffs on Chinese goods all the way up to 45%. With certain change coming to the US, economist one of its many global affects can be seen in the slowing of China's GDP growth.

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/dougbandow/2017/01/05/greece-heads-into-another-economic-crisis-time-to-finally-exit-the-european-union/#2e010616607b
"Interest rates on Greek debt soared. Planned negotiations over debt relief, long demanded by Athens, were postponed. The Fund threatened to pull out of the program. Germany, the biggest bailout contributor, insists on IMF participation before any further disbursements."

In recent years Greece has been dealing with great economic hardship. In 2010 Greece fell into a debt crisis and later declared bankruptcy of the country. Following this Greece received relief from several organizations that are now backing out. Why? Greece has shown no recovery as interest rates on debt have grown, pushing the country and it's citizens deeper into debt. As this has happened much of the relief has stopped, but the country still does not officially qualify for debt relief from the IMF.

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Economic growth lackluster at end of 2016 but stronger gains may lie ahead

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Economic growth lackluster at end of 2016 but stronger gains may lie ahead

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/02/28/economy-grew-19-q4/98497274/

"Consumer spending is expected to drive growth again in the first quarter, but that will likely be offset by sluggish exports and a pullback in business stockpiling, leaving growth at a modest 2%."

This article discusses the slowed growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 in the United States. In the fourth quarter, the economy grew just 1.9%, even though there was an expected 2.1% of growth. The reason for this smaller growth was because although consumer spending was plentiful, business investment and government spending did not grow at the same speed. In the third quarter, the economy grey at a two-year high at 3.5%, but the entire year of 2016 leveled out at 1.6%, .6% lower than the average. Overall, the main issue has been business spending and investing, which has really slumped the overall growth of the economy. Because of this,  a 2% growth is expected for the first quarter of 2017. However, economists are hopeful the Trump's plans could potentially increase economic growth in 2017. This article leaves the reader hopeful for the future after a pretty poor 2016 in the economy, and directly correlates to the conversation from class.

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http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/dominicanrepublic/overview

“The DR remains the most rapid economy in the region in 2014 and 2015, with a real GDP growth at 7 percent. Recent growth has been driven by construction, manufacturing and tourism. On the demand side, private consumption has recently been strong, as a result of low inflation (under 1% on average in 2015), job creation, as well as high level of remittances…Despite its strong growth and macroeconomic stability, the country has not witnessed significant welfare improvements, until very recently.”

This article was written in 2016 by the World Bank on the Dominican Republic. This article talks about recent changes in the Dominican Republic that have helped their economy and welfare. Until very recently, the Dominican Republic’s strong growth and stability did not reflect into the country’s welfare, as many people were living in poverty. This country has already made huge improvements to transform its economic base however there is still room for change after the reelection of the previous President. President Danilo Medina and the Dominican Liberation Party plan to create jobs, improve public service and help people in poverty, and promote an efficient fiscal policy. This article corresponds to economic growth and national wealth because it is looking at a small country that is making improvements to better its economy and the well being of their citizens.

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India's economic growth is still the envy of the world

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India's economic growth is still the envy of the world

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Stedman van Arsdale
http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/31/news/economy/india-economy-gdp-narendra-modi/

"Despite the doubts, India remains an attractive bet for multinationals. The country's growing middle class has money to spend, and its youthful population offers huge potential.

The prospect of turning that potential into profits has lured a parade of foreign executives to India: the CEOs of Microsoft (MSFT, Tech30), Google (GOOGL, Tech30) and Apple (AAPL, Tech30) have all visited the country in the past year."

India's economy is currently among the fastest growing in recent years. Its smart and youthful population makes it a country on the rise, with a very bright future. Their GDP growth rate is currently around 7% annually , as compared to the United States which is around 2% annually. There are many factors that contribute to India's fast growing economy. This includes the many companies that choose to produce overseas in India, due to the lower labor costs. The country's young and bright population is leading major companies to expand to India and begin producing goods there and open international headquarters to thrive in their growing economy. India's economic growth is showing little signs of slowing down, and is expected to keep its fast pace growth in the future, with much of the credit due to the middle classes willingness to spend, and their youthful and bright population.

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http://asia.nikkei.com/magazine/20170216/Special-Report-on-Pakistan/Chinese-investment-boosts-Pakistan-s-economic-growth

"This is a big reason the CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor] is welcomed by many in Pakistan's industry, who say it is going to be a "game changer" for the country."

According to the article, Pakistan's economic future seems extremely promising, with Chinese investment leading the way. GDP growth is expected to improve to 5% from 4.7% last year, and Morgan Stanley has upgraded the Pakistan Stock Exchange to an "Emerging Market" status - correlating with the theme of economic growth. Improvements in security and stability, along with completing a deal with IMF have been factors in Pakistan's economic improvement. Yet the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) eclipses them: 51 billion dollars of Chinese investment promise sublime energy and transportation infrastructure. China even stands to gain from the deal, as trade routes are built and exports are shipped to Pakistan. However, some fear that CPEC could have disastrous consequences: China has bought major stakes in key companies, Chinese will gain a worthy friend and has also strategically placed itself closer to India, one of its major competitors.

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"In addition to a depreciating rand and increasing living costs, South Africa could fail to achieve the economic growth required to stimulate necessary new jobs. The country had an estimated 27% unemployment rate in November 2016. With unemployed youth accounting for the demographic spearheading South Africa’s high rates of protest activity and crime, a further uptick in both of these social risks should be expected in 2017."

http://reliefweb.int/report/world/elections-and-economics-add-africa-s-2017-security-challenges

South Africa has a depreciating currency and rising costs of living. The country has already fallen into a social dystrophy  and the statistics follow suit.

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Saudi first-quarter economic growth slowest in three years, may near zero this year

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Saudi first-quarter economic growth slowest in three years, may near zero this year

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Bella Mattera

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-gdp-idUSKCN0ZJ07N

"Saudi Arabia's economy expanded at its slowest rate in three years during the first quarter of 2016 as low oil prices forced the government to cut spending and raise costs for industry, official data showed on Sunday."

As a result of declining oil prices, Saudi Arabia's economy, which is heavily reliant on oil, has begun to steadily reduce expansion. Although the oil sector of the economy exemplified growth of 5.1%, all other sectors appeared to have decreased by .7%. Additionally, the non-oil private sector grew by a minuscule .2% and the government sector actually shrunk by 2.6%. In recent years, economic growth forecasts have been noted to be inaccurate. For example, in the fourth quarter of 2015 it was predicted that Saudi's economy would see a growth rate of 3.6%, but in reality, that growth amounted to half of the estimate, resulting in a growth rate of 1.8%. Currently there is an emphasis on expanding the non-oil sector in order to compensate with poor oil growth. Another option for the government of Saudi Arabia to attempt to stimulate growth is to increase spending, since the central bank holds about $537 billion in net foreign assets.

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Economic Growth and Trade in Tanzania
https://www.usaid.gov/tanzania/economic-growth-and-trade

"Human development indicators, though improving gradually, remain low. It is unlikely that Tanzania will be able to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal—to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger—without significant additional assistance."

Tanzania is a country with over 53 million people and of those people 67% of the people work in agriculture. This accounts for 30% of the national GDP. The problem is that over 46% of the people live below the poverty threshold of $1.90 a day. If that does not rise there are very low chances that the countries Economic Growth will be positive.

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Ecuador's Poverty and Economic State

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ecuador/overview#1

"Between 2006 and 2014, GDP growth averaged 4.3%, driven by high oil prices and substantial external financing. This stimulus enabled increased social spending and important investments, especially in the energy and transportation sectors, as well as in education. According to official country information, poverty declined from 37.6% to 22.5% during that period. The Gini Index decreased from 0.54 to 0.47, given that growth benefitted the poorest population more than other segments."

The article was written in 2016 by the World Bank on Ecuador. This article talks about recent changes in Ecuador that have helped their economy but have also hurt it. As seen above in just eight years between the tine span of 2006 to 2014 the poverty decline a staggering 15.1% and the GDP growth was averaged at 4.3%. However, recent disasters have struck when they decreased their oil prices which increased poverty. Also there was an earthquake that struck that costed 3 percentage points of GDP. In order to fix these problems Ecuador on March 15, 2016, the World Bank Group Executive Board approved the Country Engagement Note (CEN) for Ecuador. With this partnership the World Bank has created three projects to help support Ecuador and there have been positive results. The roads have improved, irrigation systems have been rehabilitated, and income has increased for certain workers. This article corresponds to economic growth and national wealth because it is looking at a country that is making projects and is trying to better its economy and the well being of their citizens.

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Kellie Iannacone Africa wealth report 2015: rich get richer even as poverty and inequality deepen

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Kellie Iannacone Africa wealth report 2015: rich get richer even as poverty and inequality deepen

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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/datablog/2015/jul/31/africa-wealth-report-2015-rich-get-richer-poverty-grows-and-inequality-deepens-new-world-wealth
"From Nigeria to Mozambique you can see poverty rising at the same time as rapid growth. What does this mean? The growth is being gobbled up by the super-rich and transnational capital. And that means ordinary people, by comparison, find their lives even more impoverished."

This article highlights how despite the amount of millionaires increasing rapidly when you look at individual countries growth you are exposed to drastic differences. It talks about how there has been much development in the region but this development such as trade agreements is directed towards making the wealthier, wealthier and the poorest even poorer. I think this is important to consider when looking a nations over all economic growth because although the set figure may reflect high growth, there can still be millions in ailment.

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Can Trump grow the economy as much as he promises? 

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Can Trump grow the economy as much as he promises? 

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Sophia Sherman

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/can-donald-trump-raise-economic-growth-as-much-as-he-promises/
"What we do know about policies such as tax cuts for the wealthy is that they have redistributed income upward (“trickle up economics,” so to speak) and made the inequality problem worse."

This article is a commentary on the promises that President Trump has made to increase the GDP of our nation and how his current course of action may fail to do so. In the article, it explains Trumps promise to promote economic growth to approximately 3.5-4% annually, which is fairly unrealistic for our current growth standards. The author of this article states that while Trump has high hopes and expectations for our economy, his method of lowering taxes has more of a trickle up effect, and will increase the inequality gap rather than grow the economy.

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Turkey's Economy Hit By Declining Tourism

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Turkey's Economy Hit By Declining Tourism

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Christopher Drbal

"a 10 percent decline in foreign arrivals translates into a 0.3–0.5 percent fall in GDP... Studies show that the recovery is likely to be slow as repeated incidents of violence tend to have long-lasting effects on tourist arrivals. "

This article explains the recent economic decline in Turkey. Lately there has been terrorist attacks in the country of Turkey; these attacks have decreased tourism in Turkey because the tourists are afraid and believe their safety is jeopardized in the country. Tourism is a major part of the Turkish economy and account for about 3.7% of the Turkish GDP. The 10% decrease in tourism, due to terrorism, in Turkey has decreased the country's GDP by about 0.3%-0.5%. Clearly, the per capita growth has declined as well along with the country's overall GDP becuase the nominal GDP is now lower than before and all else was kept constant (Inflation, population, etc.).

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Trump's plans could double US GDP growth by 2018, Deutsche Bank says

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Trump's plans could double US GDP growth by 2018, Deutsche Bank says

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Sam Schwartz

http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/09/donald-trump-plans-will-double-gdp-growth-by-2018-deutsche-bank-says.html

"This approach should produce a new order that will ultimately be more stable in the sense that 'good fences make good neighbors,'" Folkers-Landau said. "However, we do note that the uncertainty about the Trump administration's policies is still large, as is the reaction of those impacted by these policies."

President Trump is attempting to stimulate growth but future is uncertain.

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US economy grew at weak 1.9 percent rate in 4th quarter

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US economy grew at weak 1.9 percent rate in 4th quarter

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Sydney Malkin

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/us-economy-grew-at-weak-19-percent-rate-in-4th-quarter/2017/02/28/9a39a34c-fdba-11e6-9b78-824ccab94435_story.html?utm_term=.d4065c4889ff

The economy was reported growing at an extremely, historically slow rate in the fourth quarter of 2016. The government has found that consumer spending has grown at a much faster rate, but spending by local and state governments are weaker. President Trump has expressed plans to double economic growth to 4 percent or even better. However, Trump’s treasury and many economists agree that it is very unlikely to reach such a high improvement in growth. Any significant increase in economic growth would most likely not be felt until 2018, years after Trump’s program had begun. Trump is still revealing details of his economic plan, but one aspect includes a $54 billion boost in military spending.

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Erika MacDonald
http://themarketmogul.com/rwanda-underrated-emerging-economy/

"Rwanda has not only exhibited miraculous economic growth since its tragic genocide but also showcases a story of familial recovery. The road map that the government of Rwanda has drawn out for itself is community-inclusive. Thus the development seen in this once ill-fated country is accountable just as much to its people as it is to the government running it."

This article navigates the waters of Rwandan economic development, often overlooked due to size of the country, the fact that it's landlocked, and due to the recent genocide. However, Rwanda is one of the (if not the) fastest growing countries, economically, within Africa (with a real GDP of 8%). One of the key elements within the Rwandan economy that differentiates it is the effortlessness in starting up a company (the government favors creation of new companies, and one can be made formally in less than a day). Furthermore, much of investment within Rwanda has been used for developing its technology sector, which has been significant for Rwandan economy. Children are even taught computer literacy (which I personally experienced when I was there) and people even have 4G mobile internet access. Anyways, this increase in connectivity and its contrast to the lack of connectivity within neighboring countries is what makes Rwanda one of the fastest growing countries within Africa.

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India's Economy: Why the time for growth is now

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India's Economy: Why the time for growth is now

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http://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/india/indias-economy-why-the-time-for-growth-is-now
“The IMF (International Monetary Fund) expects GDP to grow more than 7 percent this year, making India the world’s fastest-growing large economy. Powered by a rising middle class that’s expected to more than triple”

It has been projected that India is going to be the third-largest GDP growth engine in the world by 2030. The first factor that is powering India’s economic growth is the shift toward urbanization. It has been seen that once states and cities grow around 35 percent, productivity benefits occur. More populated cities and larger urban centers are becoming more interactive with the rest of the world and markets due to the higher GDP per capita. This is allowing citizens of India to have better consumer opportunities such as better healthcare and education. Government control and technology are also major influences for economic growth.

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http://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/east-africa/2014/08/20/ethiopia-emerging-market/

"Ethiopia is quickly emerging as a manufacturing hub in the region especially in regards to agro processing and textiles and therefore the focus on industrial parts is driven mainly by the governments focus on manufacturing as an engine for growth going forward"

This article shows how Ethiopia has one of the largest growing economies.  From 2013 to 2014, the GDP growth in Ethiopia was 10.6%.  In Kenya it was only 4.8% and in Rwanda it was 7.9%.  While Kenya and Rwanda's GDPs are considerable in comparison to Ethiopia's, it is obvious that the growth in Ethiopia's economy was greater.  The reason for this substantial growth in Ethiopia's economy was the government's involvement; Ethiopia's government is the backbone to its success.

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World Bank cautions Uganda on negative economic growth rate

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World Bank cautions Uganda on negative economic growth rate

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Sarah Barnett
http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1445822/world-bank-cautions-uganda-negative-economic-growth-rate

"...in order to return to the levels of economic growth recorded in the immediate post-reform era, it is vitally necessary to address binding constraints and to transform the economy to facilitate the achievement of higher levels of productivity through diversification into a more resilient range of economic activities."

Uganda's current negative economic growth rate is alarming, but not a fatal issue. It is expected for economic growth to follow a cycle of expansions and retractions. Uganda, between 1990 and 2010 was experiencing an abnormally high, unsustainable economic growth rate. The country's economy reached a peak, and is now in a recession. In order to recover from this recession to a healthier growth rate, the work force must adapt to fill activities that are more pertinent to the technologically advanced times. Although the headline is phrased negatively, the fluctuating economic growth and ability to respond to such changes represents the health of Uganda's economy.

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Trump’s 3.5% economic growth ‘not in the cards’: Fmr. Labor Secretary Robert Reich-Greg Dusenbury

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Trump’s 3.5% economic growth ‘not in the cards’: Fmr. Labor Secretary Robert Reich-Greg Dusenbury

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http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/21/trumps-35-economic-growth-not-in-the-cards-fmr-labor-secretary-robert-reich.html

"The Trump administration may be envisioning a 3 percent to 3.5 percent economic growth rate, but that is just "not in the cards," former Labor Secretary Robert Reich told CNBC on Tuesday.

That's because there are two sources of growth — workforce population and productivity, he explained" (Michelle Fox 2017).

Trump claims that he can achieve 3.5% economic growth but former Labor Secretary Robert Reich says he is not able to. He explains that this cannot be achieved because there is no boom in productivity meaning there is low to no growth in the GDP. In this article, economic growth is defined as growth in gross domestic product. Unlike our definition, this article's definition does not include population growth rate meaning that their economic growth does not factor in how fast a population is growing and they only focus on GDP growth not per capita GDP growth. So when we look at his claims, they are a little more attainable than when we use our traditional economic growth definition. Larry Kudlow, a CNBC contributor then argues against Reich saying that Trump's tax cuts with actually increase productivity which is essential to GDP growth and thus, economic growth. Reich then comes back to argue that corporations are already making so much money that a tax break will not have any effect on their productivity. Overall, this article directly deals with this week's topic of economic growth because the author of this article goes on to directly look at Trump's claims on economic growth and goes on to analyze the legitimacy of his claims by using their equation for economic growth.

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Imi Ratcliffe

http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/25/news/economy/stephen-moore-jeff-sachs-economic-growth/

While tax cuts have worked in the past to spur economic growth, tax cuts are unlikely to help the US economy currently due to great deal of national debt which will only grow. Tax cuts are a popular political promise but it is only a short term solution with Trump counting on growth to dig out of the debt.

"Moore says that unless the economy returns to 3% or 4% growth, "there's just now way we're going to get enough revenue growth, even if we cut spending to the bone, to balance [the U.S. ] budget."

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"Gifted with a young population and backed by $50 billion of revenue from remittances and outsourcing, the Philippines is getting an additional boost from Duterte’s $160 billion-infrastructure plan aimed at creating jobs."

The Philippines has the fastest growing economy in Asia. After years of declining growth due to government corruption, they are finally growing in the positive direction and at a fast rate. They have increased outsources and have focused on capitol investments which has created thousands of jobs and as a result greater production. With great production and higher income, consumer consumption has also dramatically increased fueling the economy

---Emma Parry

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Belarusian government aims to achieve economic growth without monetary financing

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Belarusian government aims to achieve economic growth without monetary financing

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Alex Settos
http://belarusinfocus.info/economy/belarusian-government-aims-achieve-economic-growth-without-monetary-financing

"In 2015 - 2016, the Belarusian economy was stagnating, mainly due to the tight monetary policy of the National Bank and the government. In order to overcome the devaluation, the growth in money supply in 2016 was limited to 19% with inflation at 10.6%, soft loans to industry were reduced, terms of loans were tightened and soft loans for housing construction to citizens were minimized. As a result, on the one hand, the national currency stabilized and strengthened against the US Dollar by 5.5% over the year."

In this article, the author talks about how Belarusian economy has struggled due to tight monetary policy of National Bank. In hopes of boosting the economy the Belarusian government and National Bank limited money supply to 19%, reduced loans to industry, and reduced loans to citizens. This has led to the stabilization of the nation's currency, however, there has been a sharp increase in non-payment of loans which has resulted in approximately 100,000 workers being laid off. Belarusian authorities recently met to discuss the nation's monetary policy and have chose to preserve the current credit and monetary policy. While the authorities could have opted to change their policies for short-term economic growth, they want to stay committed to their of path of long-term economic prosperity.

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Russia's Economy Goes Out With A 'Bang' 

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Russia's Economy Goes Out With A 'Bang' 

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2016/12/26/russia-2016-economy-rosneft-putin/#d05b9d86dc73
"Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said in the local press today that the economy could surprise next year by accelerating growth to 1.5%. It's not blockbuster by any measures, but after negative three percent growth over the last two years, it is at least a move in the right direction for once."
In his article published in Forbes, Kenneth Rapoza looks into Russian economic growth in past years. In the last two years, Russia has been in an economic recession, but already this year is shaping up to look much better for the world power. In late 2016, Russia's Ministry of Economic Development revised its outlook for industrial production in 2016 to 1 percent, compared to the earlier .4 percent -according to national statistics firm Rosstat, industrial production in the first 11 months of last year rose .8 percent from 2015, and 2.7 percent compared to the same month a year ago. Ultimately, this rise in domestic industrial production translates to a rise in GDP, which would suggest a rise in the per capita GDP, altogether translating to economic growth. Although these new numbers don't come new US standards, the steady incline is a major feat for the country that's been in a recession since 2014.

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"Japanese gross domestic product increased by 2.2 percent in annualized terms in the three months through September, the Cabinet Office said in a preliminary estimate."

This article focused on the economic growth of Japan and why its GDP is increasing at a rapid rate. Japan had a huge increase in foreign exports that boosted the total GDP; while other parts of its economy didn't rise at all. This total growth is unexpected and is nearly double what economists had predicted and it is thought to be due in part by the Japanese government's growth push.

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-01-20/trump-seeks-4-annual-economic-growth-high-end-of-prior-goals

"Trump in September called for a “national goal” of 4 percent economic growth while also saying his plans would create an average of 3.5 percent expansion over 10 years. His Treasury secretary nominee, Steven Mnuchin, told lawmakers Thursday in his confirmation hearing that “we should be able to get to” a sustained rate of 3 percent to 4 percent growth."

President Trump is aiming for a 4% growth for the economy, as he desires to add 25 million jobs and renegotiate trade deals to achieve the aforementioned goals in the quote. Many economists consider this proposal and goal to be a major stretch, as the record number of jobs added in a 10 year span was 24.4 million.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN1671KL
"Some of the rise in demand was met with imports, which increased at a 8.5 percent rate rather than the 8.3 percent pace reported last month. Exports declined, leaving a trade deficit that subtracted 1.70 percentage point from GDP growth as previously reported."

For all of 2016, the United States GDP grew 1.6 percent, which was much lower than recorded GDP's from previous years, therefore our country's economic growth was minuscule. The strong domestic demand was unable to be met with domestically produced products, so a lot of consumer demand was met with exports, subtracting from our GDP. Trump has planned ways to fulfill his promise of an overall 4% increase in GDP, a large economic growth for our country in comparison to last year. Tax cuts and reforms are his top priority and effort in increasing our GDP, otherwise details remain unknown.

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Business investment boosts UK economic growth after Brexit vote

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Business investment boosts UK economic growth after Brexit vote

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Molly Procter
https://www.ft.com/content/0038ee28-b2f7-11e6-a37c-f4a01f1b0fa1

“Business investment, coupled with growing consumer spending fueled by rising household income, and a strong performance in the dominant service industries, kept the economy expanding broadly in line with its historic average.”

This article discusses the uncertainty the recent Brexit vote brought concerning the economy. Although many predicted the outcomes to be negative, the quarter immediately following the referendum demonstrated growth due to business investments, increased spending, and rising income.  Some experts say it is to early to conclude Brexit has had the opposite effect on the economy than anticipated, however the growth has continued to align pre-Brexit growth paces.

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UK economic growth shrugs off Brexit uncertainty

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UK economic growth shrugs off Brexit uncertainty

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https://www.ft.com/content/fa1490f2-f909-11e6-bd4e-68d53499ed71

The article looks into the effects the vote to leave the EU has had on the economy. In the past quarter, Britians economy has grown 0.7%. This growth had to do with an increase in the increase in the amount of imports and exports of gold. The article brings up an important point that statistics are not always accurate and was one of the causes of the 2008 recession

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Economic Indicator Shows GDP Growth In Connecticut

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Economic Indicator Shows GDP Growth In Connecticut

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Carlie Darefsky
http://a.abcnews.com/images/Entertainment/GTY_jamie_dornan_sk_150121_31x13_1600.jpg

"The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis said Connecticut’s economy grew at a 3.6% annual rate in the third quarter last year or $261 billion. The national gross domestic product was 3.5 percent"

This article discusses Connecticut's economic growth compared to the economic growth of the country in the 3rd quarter of last year. Interestingly, Connecticut's GDP grew 3.6%, which is .1% higher than the national GDP growth. However, out of 50 states, Connecticut placed 27th for growth. Economist Don Klepper-Smith believes that this economic growth can be primarily attributed to the growth of "durable goods manufacturing" (which grew 5.2%). Durable goods is a broad way to describe goods that last a very long time such as appliances or furniture. Specifically in Connecticut, aerospace is a very big part of durable goods.

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Yes, really: Greece surprises with economic growth

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Yes, really: Greece surprises with economic growth

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Marisa Pendarakis
https://www.ft.com/content/966394f8-a71e-33ec-90c9-62fb3497ba4e
"The economy still shrank 0.1 per cent on an annual basis, but this was a much stronger figure than the 1.8 per cent fall predicted by economists, and the 1.3 per cent decline reported in the first quarter."

This article talks about how Greece has been experiencing major economic decline for the past years but in the second quarter their economy was declining much slower than originally expected. Their GDP was slowly increasing, however they are still not experiencing economic growth. Greece needs economic growth at this point in order to pay back their debts which at this point accounts for 180% of GDP.

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Cuban Society and Economic Development. Confronting Neoliberalism
Writing about Cuban economy in Cubadebate, Jose Luis Rodriguez (ex Minister of Economy in Cuba, current Advisor, Centre for Research on the World Economy) explains Cuban economic performance in a challenging period while he highlights concerns Cuba faces, economic areas such as export of goods and services, imports, national oil production and the national external debt. Yet, among his serious challenges Rodriguez includes the impact the passing of Fidel Castro, has had on Cuba and its people. It was a bad year but one that included a particular bad thing, the passing of Fidel. It is clear for us to see the loss of their "commander in chief," the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, who Rodriguez describes as "the most brilliant disciple of Jose Marti" (Marti himself being a Latin American hero), has been painful to Cubans.
Thus, Cuban perspective continues to be capable of including human pain and heart aches among the challenges in their economic reports. Good for them. It is interesting though that for most economic models human pain, heart ache, loss, does not count for much. Imagine how different our economic reports would be if the heart aches of the unemployed or underemployed, the pain of the homeless or those who have lost their homes because of financial woes were included. And what about the personal pain of women, of men, and children with no access to health care, free education and basics in the world? We manage to present rosy pictures of ugly times by leaving human suffering and pain mostly outside economic reports, evaluations and discussions.

Thus, we can accept a criminal economic model and call it euphemistically "neoliberal" -nothing new about it, nothing particularly liberal either, or capitalism with a human face, a true oxymoron. Even our focus on growth and increased wealth for the top layer of society goes without question. We allow, unfortunately, similar perspectives to dominate our understanding of the world, nature and our lives, causing heart ache, loss and destruction. But, heart ache and loss is difficult to measure, and growth per growth sake is our motto. A lot of good will happens when heart ache and loss are in, making visible the invisible, hopefully propelling us towards healthier directions -for us, other species, the environment, the world, and nature.

Cubans loss their historic leader and we may or may not understand the value of leadership as we are used to live without it.

Leadership used to be a positive thing, even a must, but lately whenever leaders emerge our masters move fast to suppress them, ending their lives or vanishing them, leadership not being allowed any longer in the political scene. Such are the forces behind our economies, they are powerful, relentless, and mean, and even though deep inside we all know we follow a crazy model we follow it anyway, and keep moving forward, taking our world with us.

We move fast surrounded by a hurricane of uninspiring actions and inactions, while inspiring visions are deemed without value, and worthwhile projects are turned into dust -by reason or by force; we are left alone to live lives in poverty or overconsumption.

No balance, we consume everything in sight when feasible, food, fuel, clothes, goods and services, and irreplaceable amounts of energy.

Consuming may fail to make us happy and we have little to show for our way of life, except a lot of waste. We can blame the powers that are as they truly are domineering, mean, criminal but we still choose to live the way we live. At times we can even think that others envy us and can be almost sure that those complaining would live exactly as we live having a chance. In a way we consider ourselves "lucky" and when awareness bothers us we turn to false solutions, like if recycling could deal with the amount of damage our consumption causes. It is our way to deflate guilt knowing as we know that after us there will be little left to others.

I like that Cubans seem to know why they live lives different from ours; and if at times they are tempted by stuff or tired of facing challenges to ensure survival, they are still generally happy living as they live. They have created a society rich in social relationships where nobody feels left out or afraid others would envy them, as they all have pretty much the same. After every challenge, I believe, Cubans return to the rhythm of their lives, which reflects their economy and struggles but it is also more than that.

Beyond their pain and loss, Cubans faced in 2016-2017 additional challenges, some old, some new. Among the old, we have of course the blockade, imposed by the US, Cuba's main barrier to development. The blockade is still very much in place despite talks with the Obama administration and the focus today for Cubans is to move beyond that conversation in the face of a new administration.

The cost of the blockade for Cuba has been estimated in 125,873 million dollars -only Cuba could have survived such hit. Then, among new challenges, we find the world economic recession and its effects on Cuban economic partners; which, in order of importance are: Venezuela (down in a 9.7% in 2016 and probably in a 4.7% this year), China (decreased 6.5%), Spain (decreased between 2-3%), Canada (increased GDP 1-2%) and Brazil (decreased 3.5% in 2016 but expected to grow 0.2% this year). Then, it was hurricane season and hurricane Mathew hit Cuba in October 2016; it affected Guantanamo severely, causing the destruction of about 38,000 dwellings and serious damages to the infrastructure of roads, communication and energy (electricity mainly).

The mentioned challenges have an effect on Cuban exports of goods and services, which decreased in a 30% during this period, with a fall in the prices of exported goods and services as well as reduced volumes exported. This situation particularly applied to a group of goods including nickel and sugar and to services offered, in particular, to the supply of qualified labor force to countries such as Venezuela and Brazil.

Nickel's price, for example, had increased a 10% for this period (to 10,679 USD per MT) but is still well below the price for 2013-2015 (14,596 USD per MT). Production volume is below expectations (actually 56,000 MT) due to problems with one of their production plants.

Sugar also faced increases in price (18.20 cents per pound) that went beyond sugar prices in 2015 (12.98 cents per pound). However, Cuban sugar production this year was only 80% of expected levels; this was mainly due to climatic challenges (excessive rain followed by drought) affecting the entire country. Thus the levels of 2015 (1,924,000 MT) were not reached in 2016, with 1,500,000 MT of sugar produced.

A different challenge affected oil-derivate products; in this case the levels of exportation actually increased (to 558 million MT) but the products were sold for a value of 228 million USD. Here the challenge was not actual volume of export but the value of the good in the market. For example, in 2015 similar amounts of products (532 million MT) were sold for almost three-times the value of the period (734 million USD). Thus, the price in the market affected the total value which decreased in a 68.9% for similar volumes.

Tourism was a positive sector overall; that is, there was an increase in the number of visitors to the island (13% increase) which reached the record of more than 4 million visitors, and a reported increase in the value of the services of 15%, or approximately 3 million USD. Tourism was the sector that worked best in terms of both market value and volume, which had a positive impact in the economy in 2016.

Export of services overall includes tourism and export of qualified labor force, so together the sector suffered a decreased relative to 2015 (1,170 million USD). The decrease due to the contraction of export of qualified labor force to Venezuela, in connection to challenges the Venezuelan economy is still facing. Further decreases are expected in this sector in the future because it is now facing decreases due to changes in the government of Brazil (now under Mr. Temer) -Brazil faces now both, economic challenges and unfavorable governmental views in Brazil on the import of qualified Cuban labor force.

Looking at imports there has been a decrease of a 10% in 2015 and while an increase of 7% in imports was planned for 2016 this actually did not take place, there was an additional decrease of between 3-9% in this area. The decrease was mainly in fuel imports; food imports where maintained because market food prices went down and allowed Cuba to comply with food imports need.

Food imports benefited from falling prices allowing Cuba to import food products not produced in the country for a total 14% lower than expected.

Fuel imports although lower in prices were also affected for a decreased ability of delivery by PDVSA -connected to mentioned challenges to the Venezuelan economy. Cuba managed, however, to lower consumption of fuel in a 4.4% (369,530 MT) and to reduce electricity production in a 6%.

National oil production:
The production of oil in Cuba continued to decrease, mainly due to a reduction in the number of active oil wells. Cuba has signed agreements with a Russian company (Rosneft) to focus on well recovery and to increase levels of production in the oil fields of Varadero.

National External Debt:

Cuba paid 5,299 million USD in 2016 on external debt as planned. Payment of debt obligations is crucial to Cuba because of its focus on increased access to new credit lines and better conditions of credit. Cuba also wants to facilitate, and increase when possible, Direct Foreign Investment (DFI); this has shown a modest increase in 2016; 83 new deals were signed -14 of which are repeated investments and 15 are investments specific to the area of Mariel while the rest are investments throughout the country.

The total amount of these investments is 1,300 million USD -which comes to about 488 million USD each year (or per 12 months period). Cuban need for this type of investment has been established in between 2,000-2,500 million USD allowing much room for improvement. The International Fair of Havana presented a portfolio including 395 investment projects (120 of them totally new) for an estimated value of 9,500 million USD, with a focus on foreign investment. Remittances from outside have increased and they are estimated to be between 2,000-2,500 million USD for 2016.
Plans for the future: 2017
The goal for 2017 is to focus on economic growth while favoring the following strategies: (1) guaranteeing Cuban exports while ensuring payment within the year, (2) intensifying national production, (3) substituting imports with Cuban products, and (4) reducing expenses.

Cuban expectations by sector are as follows: hotels and restaurants are expected to grow 8%, the aggregate value of the sugar industry is expected to grow as sugar production grows a 12%, an increase of 2-5% is expected in aggregate value in agriculture, industry, transport, communications, generation of electricity, gas and water, construction and commerce. A 3.3% increase is expected in retail trade and 2.7% growth is expected in other activities. Salaries are to increase 3.5% while productivity is expected to grow 6.6%.

Cuban government strategy to offset economic slowdown is to increase government investment; According to Rodriguez an increase of 49% in government funds in support of investment and of 26% in efforts to substituting imports is part of the plan. Government investment implies an increase in fiscal deficit (from 7% in 2016 to close to 12% of GDP in 2017); such deficit will be financed with emission of public bonds.

Facilitating foreign investment in Cuba has been a challenge mainly because of the US blockade and high risk assessment of Cuba by credit rating agencies - such as the Big Three controlling 95% of the credit rating markets -Moody's and Standard & Poor's, both American, controlling 80% of the credit rating market and Fitch, with offices in NYC and London, controlling the other 15%.

Foreign investors also express issues with Cuban Law of Foreign Investment (2014) in that there are possibilities of expropriation. They also disagree with having to contract all their labor force (as by Law) through public employment agencies. The process of approval of projects is also slow and it has had a negative impact in the capture of foreign investment; Raul Castro has openly expressed unhappiness regarding the excessive delays in the process of negotiations and promised to change this.

An increase in exports is discussed and includes new exports of high aggregate value such as additional products from sugar, steel of special quality in connection with their nickel and cobalt production, processed food products, quality clothes and shoes, as well as on creative industries, competitive in Cuba, and including art and art related products. An increased focus in further developing tourism with options beyond hotels -like medical and nature tourism, and including the promotion of tourist attractions such as entertainment parks, marinas, golf, theatre, dance and nocturnal centers.

José Luis Rodríguez (Cubadebate), La Economía cubana 2016-2017: Valoración Preliminar (I, II, III).

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Cuban Society and Economic Development. Confronting Neoliberalism Writing about Cuban economy in Cubadebate, Jose Luis Rodriguez (ex Minister of Economy in Cuba, current Advisor, Centre for Research on the World Economy) explains Cuban economic performance in a challenging period while he highlights concerns Cuba faces, economic areas such as export of goods and services, imports, national oil production and the national external debt.

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http://profit.ndtv.com/news/economy/article-imf-projects-indias-economic-growth-to-slow-to-6-6-post-demonetisation-1662510

"India's growth is projected to slow to 6.6 per cent in fiscal year 2016-17 due to the strains that have emerged in the economy as a result of "temporary disruptions" caused by demonetisation, the International Monetary Fund or IMF said on Wednesday."

India had rapid economic growth. In 2015-16, the economy grew at 7.6 percent and has been growing at fast rates in the past. Currently, it is growing by 7 percent and is projected to keep decreasing. This decrease, while making a strain on India's economy, is only temporary because of "demonetisation" and is projected to rise up again in the future. This relates to the cycle of borrowing and lending. The government is making temporary sacrifices in order to deal with a current issue in the country and is trying to re-balance the country's economic system.

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" A tiny country of only 8 million people — 0.1% of the world’s population — has more companies listed on the NASDAQ than any country in the world save the United States and China."

The article opens with a description of Israel's booming tech industry. It cites that Israel has the most startups per capita in the world. The article then transitions into discussing why many Israeli startups are establishing offices in the United States. Some of those reasons include widening the consumer base, hiring better professionals, and having better access to venture capital firms.

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Israel has been branded the "startup nation." For good reason: A tiny country of only 8 million people - 0.1% of the world's population - has more companies listed on the NASDAQ than any country in the world save the United States and China. Frequently cited as one of the world's most vibrant innovation hubs, Israel boasts more startups per capita than any other country in the world.

That's the good news. The bad news is that Israeli startups are struggling to scale. Only a handful of so-called unicorns - companies that have achieved a valuation of over $1 billion in the last 10 years - come from Israel, and only one Israeli firm, Teva, ranks in the world's 500 largest companies by market capitalization. As a result, tech-sector employment has declined as a percent of the workforce, from 11% in 2006-2008 to 9% in 2013. That's disappointing for a country with so much potential. But is all of that changing? Are Israeli companies on the verge of developing a repeatable playbook to scale their companies and become market leaders, not just acquisition fodder for the Silicon Valley giants?

We think so.

Israel is home to one of the most vibrant tech startup clusters in the world - why? Many explanations have been offered. Research has highlighted the early role of military R&D, which, much like in the U.S., helped to create the nation's tech industry. ( At nearly 4% of GDP, Israel spends more on R&D - public and private combined - than any nation in the world.) The government also took more direct measures to boost the tech sector. In the 1990s it subsidized venture capital, incubators, university R&D, and technology transfer programs.

Daniel Senor and Saul Singer offer additional explanations in their book, Start-Up Nation. Somewhat counterintuitively, they argue that mandatory military service helps build entrepreneurial culture. They write, "You have minimal guidance from the top and are expected to improvise, even if this means breaking some rules." Senor and Singer also cite immigration policy and a culture that tolerates risk-taking and failure as contributing to Israel's startup success.

Good relations with the U.S., too, have undoubtedly helped, connecting Israeli entrepreneurs to investors and a large market.

The final reason for Israel's entrepreneurial dynamism is based on the logic of innovation clusters: Early success breeds continued success. Once enough technologists and startups are concentrated in one place, that place becomes a magnet for venture capitalists and more talent. Israel's early embrace of tech and VC continues to pay off.

Decades ago, the thesis of Yossi Vardi, a prolific technology entrepreneur who has invested in 75 Israeli startups, was that Israeli entrepreneurs should seek quick exit opportunities through global corporations interested in buying a window into Israeli talent and technology. Today, this thesis is less relevant. For the first time in history there are Israeli companies scaling up successfully as global market leaders, and the ecosystem is evolving to support them. Indeed, the pattern of scaling seems to be changing meaningfully in recent years. In 2014, for example, 18 IPOs raised a record-breaking $9.8 billion, compared to just $1.2 billion in 2013.

So how do Israeli ventures scale up? What are the challenges and lessons of scaling up? To answer these questions, we built a database of 112 Israeli companies founded between 1996 and 2013 that have met or exceeded $20 million in revenue. We selected this benchmark because it reflects the phase in which companies have proven product viability, achieved initial product/market fit, and are now expanding sales and growing more complex operations. We also interviewed over two dozen Israeli entrepreneurs and the investors from these companies - the leading thinkers in the region - to determine the playbook that these startups are executing in order to scale.

Here's what the data say about Israeli startups:

1. They're Israeli-run but with global footprints. Eighty-two percent have global offices, and yet 91% are still run by Israeli CEOs, as opposed to foreign executives hired from the outside.

2. American VCs are critical. Ninety-one percent of the firms have received funding from foreign (mainly American) VCs.

3. The founders have started companies before. Sixty-three percent of startups currently scaling up are run by Israeli entrepreneurs with prior founding experience.

This evolving model is being supported and encouraged by the local Israeli VCs. According to Izhar Shay, a general partner at Canaan Partners, "The investment community has matured to recognize they need to plan for scale. They are seeking to build companies so that they are attractive to late-stage funds." And the late-stage global funds are swarming in, from Accel to KKR to Li Kai-Shing's Horizon Ventures.

This article outlines some of these patterns, seeks to characterize them, and draws out patterns in the data.

Pack Your Bags Early.

Despite hosting a rich startup ecosystem, Israel is simply too small a country for entrepreneurs seeking to build big companies. As a result, Israeli entrepreneurs need to begin immediately thinking outside of Israel since their primary market is often the U.S. The common approach is to incubate the business locally in Israel with a small development team, prove early product/market fit, and then build a sales and marketing organization abroad, usually in the U.S. In the old model of Israeli startups, many Israeli executive teams would hire a vice president of sales in the U.S. to assist with the local go-to-market approach. More recently, Israeli founders are themselves moving to the U.S. to build the satellite office and to personally oversee the recruitment and management of American executives who can lead the sales and marketing efforts.

However, waiting to move to the U.S. until the late-stage go-to-market phase may be too late. All of the risks inherent in launching a startup are exacerbated by the geographic distance between Israel and the U.S. Hiring talent and gathering customer feedback are even harder when teams are so physically far apart, and this separation can make it harder to build culture, forge partnerships, and raise capital.

So how early should the founders pack their bags and ship out to the U.S.? Our analysis and interviews suggest the prevailing wisdom has shifted toward a simple answer: as early as possible. Although the technical team often remains in Israel, many of the executives interviewed recommend departing for the U.S. as early as a year or two after founding. A move allows the business to get close to the customer, learn their pain points, and adapt accordingly. Understanding the market and establishing product/market fit is a critical seed-stage milestone.

When Udi Mokady and Alon Cohen launched CyberArk - the darling of the cybersecurity industry, with a market capitalization of nearly $2 billion - the founders abandoned the local strategy early on. "We began selling to local Israeli companies but had a strong feeling we were developing a product and go-to-market strategy that was missing the larger opportunity," said Mokady. As soon as CyberArk raised Series A funding, they set up a U.S. headquarters, in Massachusetts, to immerse the team in the American market. "At the time, moving close to the market was not a given, and venture capitalists did not have a clear playbook. Nowadays the argument is very clear."

Similarly, when Yaron Samid launched BillGuard, his team debated whether to build an enterprise or a consumer company. One-and-a-half years after founding the company, Yaron moved to New York and discovered that consumers, rather than banks, were the primary customer of BillGuard's service, which helps customers identify fraudulent credit card charges. With the development team based in Israel, Samid shuttles between New York and Tel Aviv, where he shares weekly insights garnered from conversations with partners, consumers, and investors in the market. Viewing this as the typical challenge of running a global company, Samid believes there is no substitute for the learning that comes from being close to the market.

The second reason to move early is to hire the absolute best sales and marketing talent. Again and again, the most challenging issue we heard about from entrepreneurs and investors is finding and retaining exceptional talent, a problem exacerbated by geographical and cultural distance. According to Modi Rosen, general partner of Magma Ventures, "The challenge of scaling is primarily in hiring for the sales and marketing front. Having the founder [locally] present for this process can be the difference between success and failure." Companies should strengthen the Israeli management team with local talent who understand how to define the market, how to sell into it, and how to gather feedback. Furthermore, companies need particular executives to serve as the primary liaison between the sales and marketing team in the U.S. and the development team in Israel. There are many Israeli professionals who have worked in the U.S. and have gained management experience at large organizations such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. There are also American executives who have experience working with startups with R&D in India, China, and Israel. Both cohorts can bridge cultural and geographical gaps.

In CyberArk's case, Mokady admits the team faced major challenges in hiring talented and seasoned American executives. "We had a rough start," he says. "As an unknown Israeli company breaking in to the U.S. market, we were not able to attract A-rated sales and marketing professionals. It took some time to gain momentum and learn how to attract local talent."

One of the key lessons CyberArk learned is to partner with VCs in order to source top talent. Mokady believes that partnering with a Boston-based VC would have helped CyberArk address its talent problems more effectively because the VC would have vouched for the company. With that said, the founding team had big dreams of becoming a global company from the beginning. Although their investors were not local, CyberArk still benefitted by partnering with foreign VCs that helped them make the leap from Israel to the U.S.

Think Bigger.

This takeaway surprised us. After all, Israeli entrepreneurs are known to be tenacious and eager to tackle complex technological and entrepreneurial challenges. However, in our interviews with Israeli venture capitalists, we learned that around the board room, Israeli entrepreneurs tend to become overly preoccupied with the product and core technology. This fixation generates a short-term view on the potential of the venture to expand beyond the immediate product line. Of course, almost all entrepreneurs are preoccupied with near-term priorities, but our interviews uncovered a pattern of Israeli companies putting too much focus on the product at the expense of building a broad vision for growth, even after achieving product/market fit.

Scaling up begins with thinking about how you build a bigger story and a bigger vision once the company is expanding. Alan Feld, cofounder and managing partner of Vintage Partners, cautions Israeli entrepreneurs not to define their product category too narrowly. "The big idea is to think as a potential industry leader rather than a one-product company. Think of where you want to be in five years and begin building a product pipeline to get there." For Netanel Oded, of Israel's National Economic Council, the critique is more poignant: "In Israel, nobody is saying 'I'm going to completely disrupt transportation.' Israeli entrepreneurs are first and foremost focused on applying technology to create a business, not necessarily on disrupting big markets through the use of technology." This subtle difference risks limiting the scope of the opportunities Israeli entrepreneurs are chasing.

Once startups begin to scale up, founders need to ask long-term strategic questions such as: How do I support growth in human capital? How do I strengthen my market position through acquisitions and innovation? How do I prove the unit economics to justify raising a growth round that will let me expand more rapidly? These are also questions that will concern late-stage investors who provide the companies the opportunities to scale and, eventually, go public.

Partner with Foreign VCs

Israeli entrepreneurs are becoming more focused on getting foreign (mostly American) VC partners in the early stages to help them pursue these opportunities from the onset. American VCs have a significantly wider network and have a capability to access management talent, data, partners, and customers to help a company scale. American VCs think about scale from the start, because their large fund sizes necessitate bigger returns. They spend more time on strategy, go-to-market, business development, and financing.

The data reveal how dramatically foreign investors impact the growth of Israeli companies, as measured by annual sales and number of employees. Israeli companies funded solely by foreign investors generated more growth than those funded by both Israeli and foreign VCs and significantly more growth than companies funded by Israeli investors alone. (One caveat: This may not point to causation, as some investors are better than others at picking rapidly-growing companies.)

But American VC partners might not always be the right choice, especially in the earliest stages. Many entrepreneurs and investors argue that Israeli VCs are more frugal and that this discipline is an important early attribute for startups. According to Ori Israely, investor and former general partner of Giza Venture Capital, "There is more fit between [an] Israeli entrepreneur and [an] Israeli investor in the seed stages. Israeli funds often know how to work better with the early stage companies because they provide efficient capital, not necessarily more capital." Israeli VCs seek to invest relatively smaller amounts-not to squeeze out the entrepreneurs, but to help them be more efficient in the early stages.

The extra runway from an American VC can come with strings attached. Once entrepreneurs bring in an American VC that typically invests at higher valuations, there is greater pressure to hit bigger milestones, move to the U.S., and pursue larger outcomes. So the decision on when to bring on an American VC is an important and strategic one.

Lead Your Company to Scale.

A decade ago, the traditional model for building up Israeli companies was to hire an American CEO. Our interviews and analysis suggest that this model failed. Today, companies reaching scale are run by Israeli founders and/or Israeli CEOs. Studying the liquidity events of Israeli firms valued over $150 million, Vintage Partners found that 81% were run by Israeli founders, while half of the remaining 19% were run by professional CEOs who were Israeli. In short, Israeli entrepreneurs are leading their companies to scale.

This conclusion is an interesting one. On one hand, Israelis need to continue to lead their companies to scale effectively. On the other hand, they need to attract foreign VCs to help them do so - typically by moving to the U.S. and recruiting a U.S.-based executive team.

So how can Israeli entrepreneurs effectively lead their organization to scale? Our interviews suggest Israeli founders have worked hard to mitigate the risks associated with a move to the U.S., developing techniques to effectively manage distributed teams and cut through cultural barriers:

Focus on culture from day one. Startups are incredibly fluid early on, and these early days are critical to building teams that can communicate and function effectively in geographically distributed circumstances. Over the course of 2-3 years, the product, the value proposition, and the competition will change dramatically. Yahal Zilka, of Magma Ventures, emphasizes that for the company to be aligned in multiple locations and react effectively to rapidly changing circumstances, employees need to develop a culture of trust and respect that transcends continents.

Place one founder on each continent.If the founding team contains more than one person, an effective formula that we've witnessed is placing one founder in Israel and one abroad, where he or she will recruit the management team. Typically, these founders know each other very well, have a deep mutual trust and respect, and can communicate seamlessly, often from years of serving in the military together. Alon Cohen, cofounder and former CEO of CyberArk, moved the company headquarters to Dedham, Massachusetts, just one year after founding in Israel. Cohen said that moving the headquarters to the United States had been talked about for some time after the company was founded, in 1999. Shortly after the move, the company hired 25-30 people in the U.S. while maintaining R&D in Israel. Fifteen years later, CyberArk employs more than 500 individuals worldwide and serves more than 1,800 customers, including 40% of Fortune 100 companies.

Get a mentor with a solid track record. It may sound obvious, but unlike in Silicon Valley, there are not many entrepreneurs from Israel who have built unicorn-sized companies. "Over the growth stages in particular, Israeli entrepreneurs need access to mentors that can deliver contextual insights and ask tough questions about scaling up in the United States," says Dror Berman, of Innovation Endeavors. The mentors who serve this role in the U.S. know how the entrepreneurial game is played, know the relevant growth-stage investors and investment bankers, and are adept at navigating exits at different stages. There are also more institutions and infrastructure for training managers, such as MBA programs, executive education, and certification programs. Most Israeli entrepreneurs have not been through this whole cycle at scale. Those that have are gold.

Israeli entrepreneurs are influenced by the success stories of their past. From 1995-2010, the Israeli startup ecosystem was not focused on creating big companies. Things have changed dramatically in the past two decades. What was once the story of ICQ's $287 million exit to AOL is now the story of MobileEye's NYSE IPO and $12 billion market capitalization. Years from now, Waze's $1 billion sale to Google may look like merely a solid outcome, rather than the canonical case study of Israeli entrepreneurship that it is today.

It is time for more Israeli entrepreneurs to swing for the fences. Building big companies means Israeli entrepreneurs should pack their bags and move to a large market early, partner with American VCs, continue to lead the company through the mid-to-late stages, and focus on building a culture.

In our data set, we found over 100 companies that have the potential to become unicorns and decacorns. We look forward to watching that list grow and evolve.

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Israel has been branded the "startup nation." For good reason: A tiny country of only 8 million people - 0.1% of the world's population - has more companies listed on the NASDAQ than any country in the world save the United States and China.

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Jonathan Alter

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/12/equality-of-opportunity/510227/

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As we begin to explore macroeconomic growth and changes in national wealth, we are going to be looking at various perspectives, reports, and articles on this issue.  You may choose to look at something in the United States or something on the global scale.  Please follow the template below and make sure to include your name for credit.

Every story must be unique (no repeats).  Once you have selected the story, read or listen to it, and select the best quote that summarizes the argument that is being presented.  Then write a one paragraph summary of that article and how it corresponds to economic growth and/or national wealth, this week's theme.

Lastly, you must respond to one other story by another student.  You may follow-up on their perspectives or you may challenge their thinking.  As always, be diplomatic in your discourse.  If someone does respond to your prompt, it is your obligation to then respond to that person's comments on your piece.