In The News

How Do You Say "Pink Cadillac" in Mandarin?

Daniel Gross November 30, 2009
The American direct-sales firm Mary Kay is proving popular in China, as an aspirational and premium brand for China’s growing middle class. Mary Kay’s initial transition to China in the 1990s was difficult because the middle class was smaller then and direct-sales firms were viewed with suspicion. But as the Chinese economy developed, Mary Kay turned into a juggernaut with rapidly growing sales...

Mr. Singh Goes to Washington – Part II

David J. Karl November 25, 2009
Discussions between India’s Prime Minister Singh and US President Obama during the former’s visit to Washington this week touched on economic cooperation. What is unlikely to have been discussed, according to David J. Karl, president of the Asia Strategy Initiative, are bi-lateral problems that could rise from India’s growing economic power. In fact, India appears to be witnessing a quiet...

China in Africa: Soft Power, Hard Results

Loro Horta November 13, 2009
The recent second China-Africa summit in Egypt and Beijing’s pledge of $10 billion in loans to the continent has brought into focus China’s growing investment in Africa, The responses have been diverse, not only from international observers, but also from individuals in the region. Building upon interviews from a broad range of Africans, Visiting Fellow at Nanyang Technological Unversity Loro...

The Post-Berlin Aftermath

Jean-Pierre Lehmann November 9, 2009
While the world celebrates the anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin wall, there are still numerous walls all over the world that need to be torn down. Professor Jean-Pierre Lehmann argues that the world is divided between a rich class of global elites scattered around the world’s major urban centers, and a class of the “globally disenfranchised.” The divide between the two is...

Outsourcing Progress

Nayan Chanda October 28, 2009
If you thought outsourcing would take a hit from the financial crisis, think again. While certain sectors have seen double digit declines, other end markets are growing. What the final tally for the year might be is unknown, but the results thus far are somewhat counter-intuitive. Outsourcing’s resilience in the face of such financial and political strain – lawmakers across the globe have often...

How Not to Kill the Oceans for Fish

Alex David Rogers September 18, 2009
The oceans and the seas – lifegivers to billions of people through sustenance and subsistence – are being quickly depleted of their fish through wasteful fishing methods, fisher overcapacity, and illegal fishing, writes Alex Rogers, Scientific Director of the International Programme on the State of the Ocean. The degradation not only affects the sustainability of an important food source and the...

Chinese Jeans Bearing Name of God Anger Iranians

Robert Tait September 16, 2009
In a gaffe that may top the list for cultural insensitivity, jeans produced in China to be sold in Iran bore a hallowed phrase from the Koran on the seat pocket of their product. Perhaps the manufacturers thought the inclusion of such a phrase would appeal to the Muslim customers and increase brand recognition. What they missed was the relevance of the phrase for devout Muslims and the less than...