These advancements could lead to a more “developed” Africa if one is measuring development through the Human Development Index because and one of the indicators is life expectancy at birth, and all 3 of these diseases affect that indicator negatively. Plus one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is “Good Health and Well Being” and this falls directly under that initiative. 

Every bit of this article relates to our class (they discussed IFIs, recommendations for developing countries, how core nations influence the entire world order, etc), but mostly made me think we are potentially about to experience (or are in the middle of) a shift of ideas of globalist to anti-globalist, similar to the shift that occurred in the 1970’s/80’s from Keynesian to Hayekian thought.

This relates to our course because it shows countries (i.e. Yemen), who are not involved in the liberal, global exchange of goods and services, have citizens who want or need to be able to move freely around the world and participate in globalization. Having access to a passport from the EU allows people to access this global market in a safe and legal way. 

This relates to our class as it shows the economic damage exploitation and colonization can cause a developing place, as well as examines the possibilities of an IFI digging a nation out of debt, while acknowledging that IFI’s aren’t perfect, but they’re better than what Puerto Rico has now. 

This relates to our course, as we have discussed where the IMF comes from (Bretton Woods Conference) and who is in charge of it (developed, wealthy nations). This also relates to the discussions we have had about the 1970’s debt crisis because that came from low interest rates all of a sudden skyrocketing, but because rates had been so low, many people/nations had taken out loans. 

Yanis Varoufakis says that after the bubble burst and the globe experienced a major recession in 2008, leaders were elected from the other side of the isle, and when they only helped central banks, voters looked for leadership outside of the establishment. These leaders on the left were seen as silly, meanwhile extreme right-wing movements popped up across the globe. Varoufakis argues that the solution isn’t to side with either globalization or isolationism, but it’s to find a sense of internationalism through using “global savings” in a purposeful way. 

This relates to our class because it discusses how the bubble burst in 2008, and the bailouts of banks didn’t help the people who were affected by the bubble burst. It also relates to our class because it supports the idea that globalization is not just black and white, and the solution is to redefine globalization or put emphasis on the concept of internationalism (the betterment of the global community).

There are elections coming up in Russia, and conveniently for Putin, there is steady economic growth. Inflation is slowing and the central bank is replenishing hard currency. While there is a strong consumer demand, Russia needs to be careful because it is vulnerable to the swing of oil prices and the centralized banking system is vulnerable from recently nationalizing two banks, and from some banks who lost money betting against the Russian ruble. 

This article relates to our class because it discusses centralized banking, as we have discussed not only centralized banks, but also central planning. Also, banks betting against the Russian ruble is similar to the shorting that occurred in the U.S. stock market, which eventually led to the 2008 global recession. 

In February, employees of Mitsubishi discovered falsification of inspection data for components which were sold to buyers who manufacture industrial equipment, and the news just broke. The Japanese minister of trade and industry said this is a “betrayal of trust in Japanese manufacturing,” and one of the customers, Boeing, released a statement saying they will now be examining the entirety of the supply chain. 

This piece directly relates to logistics, as it shows the importance of trust within a supply chain, and serves as an example of the frustration buyers further down the supply chain have when a manufacturer does not deliver honest and sufficient goods. It also made me think of how many intricate supply chains exist just to create one plane or car. 

Over the past two years, Amazon.com has recruited 27,000 sellers from India to sell products internationally. This allows Amazon to sell items at a lower price while also making money off of the increased seller fees, and “compressing the supply chain.” Indian sellers are interested in selling through Amazon because it opens them up to the American market. 

This relates to our class because it is an almost exact instance that Thomas Friedman used as an example in his “It’s a Flat World After All”: someone in India could beat out someone in the United States for a job thanks to the internet and online shopping. There was also the mention of compressing the supply chain, which relates to our discussion on logistics. 

Three weeks ago, Saudi rebels blocked the ports (both sea and air) in Yemen, and the country has been on the brink of famine and multiple health crises since. Aid shipments with food and medicine were just allowed to enter Yemen. The UN and UNICEF are both reminding the world that this aid shipment does not signify the end of distress for Yemen, but a first step in the right direction. 

This relates to our class discussions about global governance, as UNICEF and the UN are NGOs who still hold countries and leadership to certain human right standards and assist in times of need. The UN and UNICEF raising awareness that this is not a permanent solution is evidence that  these NGOs have limited power, as they are not able to provide an actual permanent solution.