The global financial crisis of 2009 changed many of the foundations of the
economic system that businesses build on. Journalists and politicians offered
their opinions, yet few of them seem to have a deeper grasp of the
issues. Scholars may have some grounded knowledge to contribute, yet
their natural inclination is to speak only to topics that thoroughly
understand, and only after thorough analysis. In the fast moving
public debates, scholars thus are often days, if not years, late in
offering analysis and advice. So, public discussions is left to those
who know to come up with a catchy one-liner quickest.
This blogs aims to offer a little bridge, and grounded opinions.
In trying to add depth to public debates, of course, I immediately
hit the limitation that I may be an expert in the particular area that
I conducted research on, yet policy issues need to connect with much
broader issues, and do so while the topic is hot. Obviously, I cannot
be an expert on everything and (contrary to certain politicians and
journalists) I have no intention of pretending I understand everything.
If a professor says something, it is generally considered
authoritatively, and backed by the esteem of the scholarly
community. When I venture outside my specific area
of expertise, however, I cannot and do not wish to claim such
authority. My views and
arguments are informed by my particular education and experience,
which involves scholarly study and research of multinational
enterprises and of emerging economies, as well as living in a
number of different countries in Europe and Asia. Where possible, I will aim
to offer linkages between public debates and scholarly work (and if
applicable, my own research).
Obviously, some people are bound to disagree with me. That
is natural. In fact, I expect that to be quite common because there is
no point of me writing on those issue where I agree with the
mainstream media and other commentators. Rather, I shall be picking
issues where my experience offers an alternative perspective, or some
knowledge or insights that not easily available to others.
OK, let's get going: Click on "Current" to see my views on
contemporary issues, and on months in the archive to find older entries
(it will take a few weeks to fill that up, though).