Category: Published Op Eds

Finance for PPPs & entrepreneurs, International Finance, Published Op Eds, Published Work, The GuardianLeave a comment

Is your economy sharia compliant?

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The Guardian Also linked to by the Wall Street Journal Our system of sovereign sukuk ratings could benefit the global economy and promote better cross-cultural relations Imaduddin Ahmed Wednesday 2 February 2011 Think of two of the most common problems highlighted in today’s news: the state of the global economy and violence at the hands of Islamists. Here’s a possible remedy to both: a sovereign sukuk rating system. Such a rating would show which economies are sharia-compliant and hence suitable candidates for asset-backed Islamic bonds in the form of sovereign sukuks. The metrics used in such a rating would mean … Continue reading Is your economy sharia compliant?

Finance for PPPs & entrepreneurs, International Finance, Published Op Eds, Published Work, The GuardianLeave a comment

What if the world had been following Islamic financial practices?

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The Guardian Also linked to by Bloomberg Businessweek It has its limitations, but it’s worth considering how the Islamic approach to banking might have prevented the financial crisis Imaduddin Ahmed 7 January 2011 Sub-prime loans, which caused housing foreclosures in the US, are not allowed in Islamic finance. Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images Imagine a world without a financial crisis. No moral hazard, so brokers won’t sell mortgages without carrying out appropriate credit checks. Imagine banks not deliberately selling complex derivatives, knowing that they will be worthless. No short-selling speculation, so companies tinkering on the edge won’t be pushed over. Imagine … Continue reading What if the world had been following Islamic financial practices?

International Finance, International Relations1 Comment

China’s economic rise will not make it the dominant political power

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Given its domestic market size, resources and untapped potential for leverage, China, according to Goldman Sachs’ projected rates of growth, is set to become the largest state economy by 2030.[1] The other BRIC economies, meanwhile, are projected to an aggregate economy worth half of the USA’s by that time, which will be relegated to the second largest economy. By 2050, China’s economy will, according to the same projections, be worth almost double the USA’s. The core EU states and Japan’s economies will have grown relatively little. A discussion, therefore, of China’s economy becoming the largest economy is relevant. This paper attempts to model the incentives, constraints and … Continue reading China’s economic rise will not make it the dominant political power

Fletcher Alumni, International Relations, Published FeaturesLeave a comment

America’s face to Muslims

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Fletcher Features Farah Pandith, F95, sworn into the position of US Department of State Special Representative to Muslim Communities by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Imaduddin Ahmed | June 18, 2010 Tufts University Fletcher School graduate Farah Pandith spearheads US President Barack Obama’s initiative to launch a ‘new beginning’ with Muslim communities “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, … Continue reading America’s face to Muslims

International RelationsLeave a comment

Foreign direct investment into Latin America

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Recommended reading by Professor of International Economics Krohn, with a summary by Erika Tabacniks and me below. Daniel Chudnovsky and Andres Lopez, ‘Foreign Direct Investment and Development: the Mercosur Experience,’ CEPAL Review #92, August 2007. http://www.eclac.org/publicaciones/xml/0/31920/ChudnovskyLopez.pdf Ruth Rios-Morales y David O’Donovan, Can the Latin American and Caribbean countries emulate the Irish model of FDI attraction? CEPAL Review #88, April 2006.   Foreign Direct Investment into Latin America Introduction In 1960 Ireland was one of the world’s poorest nations.  By 2004 it had become of the world’s wealthiest countries in terms of annual income per capita, USD 36,360; it had a large trade surplus of 38.4 billion … Continue reading Foreign direct investment into Latin America

Finance for PPPs & entrepreneurs, International Finance, Published Op Eds, Published Work, The Boston Globe5 Comments

Pakistan, rebranded

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The Boston Globe By Imaduddin Ahmed and Kapil Komireddi March 25, 2010 Pop-star Ali Zafar GOOGLE “PAKISTAN is’’ and you’ll find a host of common searches: “a failed state,’’ “a terrorist country,’’ “doomed’’ and — encompassing all of the above — “the problem.’’ Pakistan’s image is both the effect and a potential cause of terrorism: it scares away business investments, and leaves jobless youth without opportunities, ripe for mullahs who promise riches in the afterlife. In significant ways, however, the actual security risks faced by private enterprises in Pakistan is no greater than the violent threat they face in India. … Continue reading Pakistan, rebranded

International Relations, Published Op Eds, Published Work, The Friday TimesLeave a comment

What happened at Copenhagen and why China didn’t cooperate

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The Friday Times (Pakistan) Imaduddin Ahmed | Jan 8, 2010 With China projected by Goldman Sachs to overtake the US as the largest economy by 2030, the way for the US to remain the most dominant force in global politics will be by having China sign itself into US-led global governance structures The generally accepted view among the scientific community is that human activity, through greenhouse emissions (mainly in the form of carbon dioxide), has contributed significantly to global warming. Global warming isn’t irrelevant. According to the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Pakistan can expect floods and rock … Continue reading What happened at Copenhagen and why China didn’t cooperate

International RelationsLeave a comment

China’s economic rise will not make it the dominant political power

imadahmed

Imaduddin Ahmed Tufts Roundtable Given its domestic market size, resources and untapped potential for leverage, China, according to Goldman Sachs’ projected rates of growth, is set to become the largest state economy by 2030.[1] The other BRIC economies, meanwhile, are projected to an aggregate economy worth half of the USA’s by that time, which will drop to the second largest economy. By 2050, China’s economy will, according to the same projections, be worth almost double the USA’s. The core EU states and Japan’s economies will have grown relatively little. A discussion, therefore, of China’s economy becoming the largest economy is … Continue reading China’s economic rise will not make it the dominant political power

International RelationsLeave a comment

Who wins from Chinese-Taiwanese economic interdependence? Realist and liberal assessments

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Imaduddin Ahmed Trade between China and Taiwan was worth $77 million in 1979, the first year of Beijing’s opening-up policy. By 1993, cross-strait trade was worth $9.3 billion.[1] Even under strained political relations with a DPP Taiwanese government antagonising China’s political leadership, China accounted for 40% of Taiwan’s exports in 2006 and 70% of its foreign direct investment in 2005, with trade between the two amounting for US$108 billion in 2006 according to Mainland government figures. In early 2009, 1 million, Taiwanese business people and their family members, or 4.5% of the island’s population, lived and worked in China.[2] Official … Continue reading Who wins from Chinese-Taiwanese economic interdependence? Realist and liberal assessments

Fletcher Alumni, International Relations, Published FeaturesLeave a comment

Fortuneteller – Imaduddin Ahmed, F11, Interviews Professor Vali Nasr, F84

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Fletcher Features Professor of International Politics at The Fletcher School Vali Nasr, F84, and Senior Advisor to Richard Holbrooke, Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, talks to Imaduddin Ahmed, F11, about his newest book,Forces of Fortune. What is the central … Continue reading Fortuneteller – Imaduddin Ahmed, F11, Interviews Professor Vali Nasr, F84