In The News

In Europe, Going Global Means, Alas, English

John Tagliabue May 19, 2002
En inglés, auf Englisch, en anglaise, en inglese, in English, please. The number of schools and academies that teach English has increased dramatically in Europe. Indeed, as companies increasingly seek transnational markets and employees, English has become the 'lingua franca' of board meetings and cross-border communications. Company workers, especially high-ranking ones, are polishing...

Let Nike Stay in the Game

Bob Herbert May 6, 2002
Does the US Constitution protect freedom of speech even when that speech is full of lies? According to this opinion piece in The New York Times, it most certainly should. Last week, however, a lawsuit was brought against Nike charging the corporation with misrepresenting its overseas factories and falsely telling the public that it was in compliance with applicable wage and safety regulations....

Foreign Distillers Seek to Slake India's Thirst

Saritha Rai May 5, 2002
Diminished social disapproval of alcohol consumption among India's middle class, coupled with a national economy increasingly open to foreign investment, is attracting big foreign distillers to India. For decades, India vigilantly regulated foreign investment, choosing instead to bolster and develop its local industries. With increased pressure from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to...

Auto Parts Makers Grinding to a Halt

Danny Hakim April 30, 2002
The globalization of automobile parts production and the search for a bigger bottom line have been putting pressure on suppliers all over the world. In this story, the New York Times profiles a Michigan auto-part manufacturer who is losing his business to a foreign supplier. “General Motors, Ford and Chrysler used to develop all of their work in their backyard. Now, it's go on the Internet...

Brazil's Prized Exports Rely on Slaves and Scorched Land

Larry Rohter March 25, 2002
Slavery lurks in remote parts of the Brazilian Amazon as laborers are duped into working contracts that exploit them mercilessly. The prime exports of this resource-rich region – exotic woods and beef – have raised many controversies at both national and international levels. Human rights violations and environmental degradation – both difficult to monitor – often go unpunished or are even...

Arise, Ye Prisoners of Starvation

Bill Keller February 23, 2002
In the uncertain days of communism's collapse, Russian farmers were unmotivated and struggling. When McDonald's decided to take a chance on them, enlisting Russians to provide beef, milk, and pickles for the new restaurants, the farmers were astonished. In the last decade, though, McDonald's has thrived in Russia, offering novelty, dependable jobs, and a clean place to eat for a...

Why Are Globalizers So Provincial?

Alice H. Amsden January 31, 2002
A quick review of the national origins of leaders at the upcoming 2002 World Economic Forum reveals the provincial nature of purportedly global economic organizations. In order for institutions like the World Trade Organization to live up to their name, says MIT scholar Alice H. Amsden, leaders from semi-industrialized countries like Brazil, Mexico and China must be allowed among international...