Economics

Anyone who has spent time in Korea knows the term Yellow Dust. Sand from Mongolia sweeps across China, picking up pollutants and carrying them across borders. Every spring, Koreans bring…

Last week, North Korea launched its Seventh Worker's Party Congress, a major meeting of regime leaders that has not been convened in 36 years. Although analysts had high expectations for…

In this episode, we take a step back from the Korean Peninsula and take a look at Northeast Asia from the perspective of one of its neighbors – Russia. In…

On May 1, South Korean President Park Geun-hye will travel to Tehran, Iran for a summit meeting with her counterpart, President Hassan Rouhani. This visit will be the first time a…

South Korea narrowly avoided a technical recession in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024 as GDP eked out a disappointing 0.1 percent gain from Q2, according to the Bank of Korea. The increase follows a small decrease in Q2 and a large upturn in Q1. The Q3 data corresponds to about a 0.4 percent gain…

Americans will soon elect a new presidential administration, which means potential changes for an array of US policies. In recent years, Washington has aligned its economic policies to coordinate with like-minded partners on supply chains and economic security, advanced technology development and safety, and decarbonization and clean economy standards. With a host of initiatives still…

Every fall, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hosts the world’s top economists, central bank officials, government bureaucrats, and civil society leaders in its Annual Meetings to discuss issues of key concern and calibrate a future outlook on the global economy. There were four main themes in this year’s meeting: moderating inflation, low growth, fiscal stress,…

Donald Trump, his vice-presidential running mate J.D. Vance, and his prospective secretary of the Treasury Robert Lighthizer have all pointed to a weaker dollar as a solution to the competitiveness problems of US manufacturing. Their suggestions raise more questions than they answer, however. Is a weaker dollar, in fact, something that can be achieved? Would…

As disruptions in supply chains continue, what practical steps can the U.S. and Korea take to strengthen supply chains against future crises?