In The News

The Life of the Chinese Gold Farmer

Julian Dibbell July 4, 2007
World of Warcraft, produced by Blizzard Entertainment, is one of the most profitable massively-multiplayer-online (MMO) games in history. Players collect currency to buy weapons and other gear to fight monsters, by looting or selling items to other players. At a normal playing rate, the process of collecting currency, known as “the grind,” takes about four months to complete. However, Chinese...

In Ukraine, Illegal Mines Beckon the Jobless

Andrew Matheny June 21, 2007
Under communism, miners in Ukraine earned three times the national wage average, and mining jobs included perks like an apartment and early retirement. The transition from communism to capitalism has not been easy for Ukraine’s state-run mines, since the nation gained independence in 1991. Independence brought new competition from competing energy sources, mostly gas and oil from Siberia. The...

Fake Lipton Tea, Nescafe Leak Into EU, Hurting Unilever, Nestlé

Stephanie Bodoni June 19, 2007
Low costs in shipping and packaging allow counterfeiters to apply their skills beyond luxury goods to ordinary products, including tea, shampoo or soap. Some counterfeit toothpaste contained chemicals found in anti-freeze, and imitation teabags include sawdust or dyed wood chips. One factory in Pakistan with 20 people made a ton of counterfeit tea each day. With the internet easing ways to find...

China's Conquest of Africa

Andreas Lorenz June 15, 2007
China is purchasing and investing in Africa’s natural resources and, in return, providing the continent with cheap consumer goods and a powerful trading partner. Not all Africans are pleased. Some, such as Michael Chilufya Sata, head of Zambia’s Patriotic Front, an opposition group, points out that the Chinese don’t have to pay taxes and warns voters that China could export dictatorship to Africa...

$12 Trillion Monster Threatens Globalization

William Pesek June 12, 2007
Some countries control great pools of wealth, building funds from oil or other natural-resource revenue, according to William Pesek, Bloomberg news columnist. But with funds growing by leaps and bounds, their owners look to make good use of these savings – and in the process could transform global financial markets. The funds together, many based in Asia, could outgrow the entire US economy by...

The Last 'Competitive Advantage': Letter From China

Jehangir S. Pocha June 12, 2007
Workers of the West resent the transfer of manufacturing jobs to China, as companies pursue cost advantages and low wages. With good jobs hard to come by, the Chinese have little choice but to work long days for low wages. Some employers withhold wages altogether. Allowing competition to take its course and viewing jobs of any sort as the best way to alleviate poverty, the Chinese government has...

In Nouveau Riche India, Even the Poor Show Off

Mark Sappenfield June 11, 2007
A nation that once relied on castes to categorize its citizens can now use possessions to reflect self-worth. Enjoying exploding income growth, consumers in India seek out the latest technology to reflect status. This trend emerges across all socioeconomic levels, with a recent study showing that spending across all economic segments is up by about 50 percent, reports The Christian Science...