Barry D. Wood
Washington writer Barry D. Wood for two decades was chief economics correspondent at Voice of America News, reporting from 25 G7/8, G20 summits. He is the Washington correspondent of RTHK, Hong Kong radio. Wood's earliest reporting included covering key events in South and southern Africa, among them the Portuguese withdrawal from Mozambique and Angola and the Soweto uprising in the mid-1970s. He is the author of the book Exploring New Europe, A Bicycle Journey, based his travels – by bicycle – through 14 countries of the former Soviet bloc after the fall of Russian communism. Read more of his work at econbarry.com. Watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07OIjoanVGg
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Articles By This Author
June 16, 1976 – What it was like in Soweto on the first day
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Mar 22, 2026
Implausibly, on the morning of 16 June 1976, I first heard there was trouble in Soweto from London.
The threat to SA’s biggest industry
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Mar 1, 2026
Could South Africa lose its motor industry, its biggest manufacturer, and half a million jobs? Could SA repeat the sad experience of Australia, which lost its car industry a decade ago?
Welcome to Zimbabwe
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Feb 22, 2026
Harare, Zimbabwe: Arriving at Harare’s renovated, ultra-modern airport, I paid for my tourist visa and stepped outside. There was a line of taxis, and I
Trump’s unprecedented assault on the rules-based economic order
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Feb 1, 2026
In Budapest some time ago, I came upon a wall poster bearing the likenesses of potentates whose imperial rule collapsed in the aftermath of World
Because Jay Powell fought back, Fed independence is more secure
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Jan 17, 2026
Jerome Powell’s eloquent defence of Federal Reserve independence, delivered in a two-minute YouTube video on January 11th, was an inspiring act of courage. The 72-year-old
The sad demise of Kellogg’s – snacks defeat nutrition
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Jan 12, 2026
From the 1950s and into the 80s a box of Kellogg’s cereal was as ubiquitous as a smart phone is today. The Michigan company manufactured
Three iconic buildings by Frank Gehry, “our greatest architect”
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Dec 14, 2025
A quarter century ago 91-year-old Philip Johnson stood in the atrium of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and wept. Moved by the astonishing
Saving the G20
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Nov 25, 2025
The Trump administration made a big mistake by not participating in the Johannesburg G20 summit. Having declared several months back that he would not be
Can US manufacturing compete with China’s
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Nov 23, 2025
In the following two pieces, I examine the state of manufacturing in the US and its competitive position. Can America compete with China, the world’s
The financial health of Americans
- By Barry D. Wood
- . Oct 26, 2025
Is the American family holding its own financially, getting richer or becoming poorer? At first glance it appears Americans are doing well. Median household income