That Good Education Might Not Be Enough

During a trip to India, US President Bush met with a group of talented Indian business students, and used the occasion to dispense advice to young Americans about pursuing an education to compete in the global marketplace. By now, everyone knows that because of lopsided wages, living costs and health care benefits across the globe, the students from India can work for less income than their US counterparts. But the suggestion that a good education is the cure-all for problems associated with globalization – outsourcing, stagnant wages, and reduced benefits – may no longer be true, according to some economists. A former US Federal Reserve official estimates that one third of all American jobs could potentially be outsourced. Service jobs – from financial analysts to physicians – are as vulnerable as manufacturing jobs. The president was candid with the students that outsourcing and competition are inevitable. Education is valuable, but pushing that alone is not an effective global economic strategy, warns another analyst. Politicians and students on both sides of the Pacific must examine all facets of competition and develop long-term strategies to control the areas of imbalance. – YaleGlobal