Word: long
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...coordination by exerting greater control over its fragmented economies, markets and political systems. China's four largest banks, for example, still have over 50,000 branches between them - branches that in many cases function autonomously with respect to deposit-gathering and lending policies. Such a fragmented banking system has long been a major complication for China's central bank and its execution of a coherent monetary policy. Asia's rural-urban dichotomy also creates a natural fragmentation to its social and economic fabric - underscoring ever widening income and educational disparities that remain a major source of instability in the region...
...From a macroeconomic point of view, better balance is Asia's most urgent priority. Central to that rebalancing will be the long-awaited emergence of the Asian consumer. For a region steeped in a culture of saving, this will not be an easy transformation. Here again, China undoubtedly holds the key. Its legendary excesses of precautionary savings are traceable to two major developments: massive layoffs associated with over 15 years of state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms and the lack of an institutionalized social safety net. With SOE reforms likely to be ongoing - albeit probably at a slower pace...
...Next Asia has much to gain from its external linkages - especially by focusing more on the benefits of cross-border economic integration. Perhaps the greatest opportunity in that regard could come from closer ties between the two greatest powers in the region: Japan and China. Despite a long and difficult history between them, these two nations are natural complements in many key respects. Japan, with its declining population and high-cost workforce, has much to gain from Chinese outsourcing and efficiency solutions. China, with its need for new technologies and pollution abatement, has just as much to gain from Japan...
...your article on Germany, "Divided They Stand" [Sept. 21]: No longer. The country has been reunited for 20 years now, and most people under 35 cannot even remember that Germany and Europe were once separated into two political blocs. The Iron Curtain and the Wall are long forgotten episodes that young people only know from history books. They do not distinguish between East and West, North and South. They think of the future, not the past. Likewise most of the elderly are very happy with the new Germany after the end of the Cold War. Rolf Reichert, ASCHAFFENBURG, GERMANY...
...common cultural task that Germans and Turks must face together. Some Turkish people are not eager to learn German, thus missing out on the most important tool for integration. I do not blame the Turks for their habits, I just want to emphasize that there is still a long way to go to achieve full integration, and that some of the obstacles are independent of the economy. Manfred Baeuerle, KUCHEN, GERMANY...