Philip Nichols - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

Attached at the Wallet: The Delicate Financial Relationship between the U.S. and China

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:19:24 EST

The financial relationship between China and the U.S. is beginning to look like an unhealthy co-dependency. China holds so much of its foreign reserves in dollar-based assets that it is now vulnerable to shifts in the U.S. economy. And the U.S. has allowed China to purchase so much of its debt that it is now beholden to Chinese interests. Experts disagree, however, about the real motives for China's continuing investments, and whether it would ever sell them off.

Worry in the West as Eastern and Central European Economies Head South

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:25:43 EST

The world financial crisis is unraveling the gains made by many Central and Eastern European economies during their post-Cold War resurgence. With the region no longer isolated, an economic collapse could reverberate in the West, as Central and Eastern European borrowers default on an enormous volume of loans that Western banks were all too eager to grant just a few years ago.

The Other Banking Drama: Those Secret Swiss Accounts

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 14:25:43 EST

Tax authorities in the United States have challenged long-standing Swiss banking secrecy laws, demanding that UBS AG release the names of 52,000 Americans suspected of opening secret accounts to evade taxes. The bank agreed to release client information on 250 U.S. citizens and pay a $780 million fine as part of a settlement, but that decision has put the entire Swiss banking system in jeopardy, according to Wharton faculty.

Dear President-elect Obama: Here's How to Get the Economy out of the Ditch

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:57:28 EST

President-elect Barack Obama must lead a nation mired in a worsening recession and burdened by the costs, both financial and human, of two wars and rising debt. Wharton faculty offer some counterintuitive advice: Now may be the time for the government to spend a lot of money.

Political Tensions Are Creating New Rules for International Business

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:32:59 EST

Emerging economies still promise opportunity but also political risk for international businesses. Growing income disparity in rapidly developing economies, geopolitical tensions and anti-U.S. attitudes are among the broader political trends that could shape global business in the future, according to Wharton faculty. "Increasingly, politics will intervene and political management skills will be valuable for multinationals," says Wharton management professor Witold Henisz.

Linking Commerce to Geopolitics: The Candidates' Views on Global Trade

Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:25:57 EST

With global financial markets in turmoil, trade will most likely be an urgent concern for the next president. As part of Knowledge@Wharton's ongoing coverage of the upcoming November election, we examine the candidates' views on trade issues. So far, both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have tended to follow predictable party lines: McCain is a supporter of free trade and would back additional multilateral trade pacts, while Obama urges a reexamination of trade agreements and their effect on the environment and U.S. workers.

When Are Emerging Markets No Longer 'Emerging'?

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 15:48:59 EST

The term "emerging markets" is now more than 25 years old and has come to define wide swaths of the world undergoing rapid economic change. Dozens of countries fall under the label even though they are evolving at their own pace and with their own twists on economic development. Now, as many emerging markets show signs of a strong and growing middle-class population, observers wonder whether the term has lost some of its meaning. What qualifies a country as "emerging"? While some say measures based on income or other statistics are critical factors, others place an increasing emphasis on the way business is conducted, with rules that are transparent and apply equally to all participants.

The Long and Winding Road to Privatization in China

Wed, 10 May 2006 17:29:08 EST

China's sweeping economic reforms, which have lifted the country to a starring role in the global economy in only a quarter-century, are marked by a more gradual transition from state control to private ownership of firms than in other countries that have also made the transition, according to Wharton faculty. Indeed, privatization in China has come slowly as government officials weighed the prospect of massive layoffs necessary to restructure bloated state-owned enterprises, known as SOEs. Privatization was also met with resistance from influential company managers, many of them Communist party officials. Despite these obstacles, however, a vibrant, entrepreneurial private sector has managed to survive alongside state-controlled firms.

In the Current Round of Global Trade Talks, Brazil Aims for Center Stage

Wed, 01 Mar 2006 17:08:24 EST

As trade ministers from the world's leading industrial nations scurried to get ready for crucial meetings in Hong Kong that could decide the fate of the World Trade Organization's Doha Round, they made sure to establish contact with a handful of the largest, most influential developing countries, including Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. To no one's surprise, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is leading the Latin American trade delegations in their attempts to push the U.S., Europe and other industrialized nations to make deep cuts in their agricultural tariffs and subsidies. The existence of such protective measures makes it hard for developing countries like Brazil, where economic development is more urgent than ever, to sell their agricultural products to rich countries.

Yukos and the Wild, Wild East: Can Putin Win the Showdown?

Wed, 03 Dec 2003 14:56:54 EST

The arrest of Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky on tax-evasion and fraud charges – with the apparent approval of President Vladimir Putin, if not by his direct order – continues to raise concerns both inside and outside

Russia

over what this development means politically and economically. Wharton professors and others offer different interpretations of the reasons for Khodorkovsky’s jailing and the potential fallout for Russian businesses and foreign investors.

Collapse in Cancun: The World Trade Agenda Gets Sidetracked

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 00:00:00 EST

If you took delegates from 146 countries � ranging from the poorest agricultural regions in Africa to the most affluent nations of Europe � and asked them to negotiate a trade agreement that would satisfy everyone, what are the chances they would succeed? Very slim, as the collapse of the world trade talks in Cancun earlier this month proved. Huge fault lines appeared between two general camps: The developing countries, who contended that the richer nations� agricultural subsidies are an unfair trading advantage, and the more advanced nations who sought new global rules that would help protect their economic interests. So what happened and where do we go from here?

Globalization: More Producers, Not Enough Consumers

Tue, 29 Jul 2003 00:00:00 EST

Whether they were talking about hamburgers, protectionism or cheap labor, speakers at a panel discussion on the promise and perils of globalization in Latin America noted that most efforts at globalization are underpinned by the need for change. While the panelists agreed overall that globalization has improved the lives of people throughout the world, they also noted ways in which it has failed to live up to many of its original promises in such areas as free trade, greater competition and increased purchasing power.

How Bribery and Other Types of Corruption Threaten the Global Marketplace

Wed, 23 Oct 2002 00:00:00 EST

In Turkey, the apartment buildings that collapse during earthquakes are known as “bribe buildings.” In Africa, bridges dot the landscape with no roads to connect them. There’s no doubt that corruption, endemic in emerging economies around the world, throws economic development into chaos. It affects decisions made by bureaucrats, degrades the quality of those in power, and discourages foreign investment. Wharton legal studies professor Phil Nichols has spent the last few years researching the effects of corruption and some strategies to combat it.

Surfing Time for Wharton�s Summertime-Savvy Professors

Wed, 04 Jul 2001 00:00:00 EST

The summer holidays are here, and Wharton professors have identified their favorite surfing spots. Some of these locations will interest those who just want to get their toes wet; others are for more experienced surfers. Check them out.