Yale Podcast: Where Do Brexit and Anti-Globalization Sentiments Come From?

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Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School A Podcast from the Yale Podcast Network Recorded by Hira Jafri, Director of Global Programs, the MacMillan Center, Yale University The pushback against globalization—manifested in the Brexit vote, support for nationalist leaders like Trump, and protectionist tariffs—stems from (somewhat overblown) anxieties about cultural identity, stagnating incomes among the lower … Continue reading Yale Podcast: Where Do Brexit and Anti-Globalization Sentiments Come From?

Trump Administration Labels China a “Currency Manipulator”: What’s behind the accusation, and who’s right?

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© 2019 Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School At 5 o’clock in the morning on August 5, 2019, unable to sleep, Trump tweeted about China—not for the first time accusing it of being a “currency manipulator,”[1] and describing this as a “major violation.” (See Figure 1 below.) Treasury Secretary Mnuchin followed with an official announcement … Continue reading Trump Administration Labels China a “Currency Manipulator”: What’s behind the accusation, and who’s right?

From Bombay to Baltimore: Was the American national anthem composed on a ship built in India at the Wadia Shipyard?

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© 2019, Prof. Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School This is an updated and revised version of the June 14, 2018 post: The “Star-Spangled Banner” and an Early Example of Outsourcing: The American National Anthem Was Composed on a Ship Built in India The featured image of the Stars and Stripes above is housed at … Continue reading From Bombay to Baltimore: Was the American national anthem composed on a ship built in India at the Wadia Shipyard?

Advantages and Drawbacks of Undervalued Versus Overvalued Currencies

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© 2019 Prof. Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers University UPDATE: See the August 11, 2019 post: Trump Administration Labels China a “Currency Manipulator”: What’s behind the accusation, and who’s right? Also See the Companion Post:  Is the Indian Rupee Undervalued or Overvalued? What Purchasing Power Parity Theory Tells Us Currencies can be undervalued (very devalued) for natural reasons, … Continue reading Advantages and Drawbacks of Undervalued Versus Overvalued Currencies

The Globalization of Thanksgiving Day

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© 2018 Prof. Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers University A cause for celebration: The 17th-century English settlers survived starvation and death thanks to the help of Native American “Indians,” who taught them how to plant native crops and where to hunt and fish. Having just returned to the US in time for Thanksgiving with my family … Continue reading The Globalization of Thanksgiving Day

How a Two-Minute Speech of Only 272 Words Uttered by Abraham Lincoln  Is Relevant for the World Today

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© 2018, Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School After the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg in early July 1863 during the American Civil War, President Lincoln, the leader of the northern United States in combat with the southern Confederacy, was invited to speak at a cemetery for the dead soldiers. Growing up in a log cabin … Continue reading How a Two-Minute Speech of Only 272 Words Uttered by Abraham Lincoln  Is Relevant for the World Today

What Is “Dumping”?

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Supposedly, dumping is the practice of a foreign company “selling below cost”—but in almost all cases, the dumping company is not losing money. © 2018, Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School (Also see my April 13, 2018 post,TEN QUICK FACTS ABOUT US TRADE: Deficits, Dumping, and Discords, in which I introduced the topic of dumping … Continue reading What Is “Dumping”?

Does China Systematically Force US Companies to Reveal Their Secrets?

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© 2018, Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School Among the commercial issues in contention between the US government and China today, the transfer of technology is increasingly an agenda item brought up by the American side. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on September 27, 2018, a Beijing policymaker summarized the Chinese … Continue reading Does China Systematically Force US Companies to Reveal Their Secrets?

Tax Avoidance by Multinational Companies: Methods, Policies, and Ethics (Updated)

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© 2018, Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School An earlier version of this article was published on this site on May 5, 2016, and also in AIB Insights, Vol. 16, No. 2 (2016). Recommended Citation:  Contractor, Farok J. Tax avoidance by multinational companies: methods, policies, and ethics. Rutgers Business Review, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 27–43 (2016). Also see … Continue reading Tax Avoidance by Multinational Companies: Methods, Policies, and Ethics (Updated)

Does Just One Product – the iPhone – Cause an $11 Billion Trade Deficit for the US?

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© 2018, Farok J. Contractor, Rutgers Business School   Trade Statistics Alone Can Frighten and Mislead In my July 11, 2018 blog post, The US-China Trade Spat: How the Public, Media, and Politicians Can Be Deceived by Data, I described how taking data and statistics out of the context of the larger picture can be not only … Continue reading Does Just One Product – the iPhone – Cause an $11 Billion Trade Deficit for the US?