Growing tensions between the United States and China over trade, Taiwan and human rights could lead to a military crisis in East Asia, according to some experts.
These experts suggest that increasing trade and investment can do more to liberalize China's political structure, increase its compliance with international commercial law and maintain peace in the region than a policy of confrontation by the U.S.
Economically, China has been moving in the right direction:
Other Pacific Asian countries are also becoming major economic powers, and the GDP of Southeast Asia is expected to grow in under a decade from $500 billion to $1.2 trillion, while their trade with the U.S. could surpass U.S.-Japanese trade by 2000.
Thus, other countries in the region may achieve an economic and military "balance of power" with China and Japan that will ensure regional stability.
Source: Leon T. Hadar, "The Sweet-and-Sour Sino-American Relationship," Policy Analysis No. 248, January 23, 1996, Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001, (202) 842-0200.
A comparison of the national economies of more than 100 countries confirms that economic freedom, growth and higher incomes go hand-in-hand. The economists who authored the study also found that economic freedom has increased since 1985.
They used an index of 19 indicators to rank countries on their protection of private property, personal choice and freedom of exchange. They examined the progress or decline of the economies from 1975 to 1995, and awarded them letter grades based on current conditions.
According to the study, the 14 countries that earned a summary grade of either A or B for the 1993-1995 period had average annual growth in per capita real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 2.4 percent from 1980 to 1994 and 2.6 percent from 1985 to 1994.
The six countries with high ratings throughout the last 20 years were all in the Top Ten in terms of 1994 per capita GDP, and none of them failed to achieve high levels of income per person.
However, 27 countries earned a grade of F- because their policies and institutional arrangements were inconsistent with economic freedom in almost every area. Instead of growing, their economies shrank:
However, in both industrialized and developing countries, there was an average overall increase in economic freedom during the last 20 years, leading to improving economic conditions.
Source: James Gwartney, Robert Lawson and Walter Block, Economic Freedom of the World: 1975-1995 (Vancouver, B. C.: Fraser Institute, 1996).
Is the earth becoming overpopulated? It is not a question of the human population outstripping resources, since food production continues to exceed population growth and non-renewable resources become more plentiful each year as new sources are found.
Even in sheer numbers, though, there is growing evidence that the world's population is heading toward stability.
What is sometimes meant by overpopulation is overcrowding, or too great a population density. However, population density varies widely. Much of the world's land surface is empty, and many countries with dense populations have a higher standard of living than less crowded countries.
One reason people are crowded together in cities is because it makes possible many more exchanges and greater specialization of labor, thus increasing living standards.
Source: Jim Peron, "Exploding Population Myths," Fraser Forum, October 1995, Fraser Institute, 2nd Floor, 626 Bute Street, Vancouver, B. C., V6E 3M1, (604) 688-0221.
In the aftermath of the narrow defeat of the Quebec referendum on independence in October 1995, Canadians face an uncertain future. There are three basic scenarios:
In the event Quebec does separate, however, other Canadians should realize that the question then becomes, will the rest of Canada stay together as a nation, or will it fragment into smaller bits?
The disparity in the wealth of the provinces and the divergence of interests between the Far West, the Prairie provinces, Ontario and the Maritime provinces suggests that the rest of Canada would not remain unchanged if Quebec goes its way.
Source: Gordon Gibson, "Betting on Canada -- Plan A or Plan B?" Fraser Forum, January 1996, Fraser Institute, 2nd Floor, 626 Bute Street, Vancouver, B. C., V6E 3M1, (604) 688-0221.