In The News

China Builds Commerce Codes

Andrew Batson March 3, 2007
China's economy is the second largest in the world after the US and, with more than a billion people, growing fast. But the nation’s legal system is immature and fails to protect all business interests, particularly private-property rights and other elements not traditionally part of a communist system. After establishing rules on corporate bankruptcies, the National People’s Congress is...

A Budget for Globalization

February 22, 2007
Singapore’s historic status as a thriving international port has long rested on its openness to international business and trade. The government’s efforts in enticing foreign businesses and tourists to Singapore have made it among the most business-friendly economies in the world. One key to that success has been a willingness to adapt to a rapidly changing global economy, and the government...

Globalization Forces a Health-Check of US Auto Industry

Susan Froetschel February 19, 2007
Of the top six automobile-manufacturing countries in the world, the US and China are the only ones that lack universal government-backed health care. US workers expect employers like Ford, General Motors and Chrysler to provide cradle-to-grave health coverage, a significant cost burden not shared by competitors. The problem is exacerbated by health plans for retired employees – every plant...

China’s Neo-Colonial Slavery in PNG

Rowan Callick February 15, 2007
China’s growing worldwide investment in natural resources is not a new story and just one of many results of a well-chronicled booming economy. What is new is the phenomenon of Chinese corporations dealing with the people and governments of countries supplying them with these mineral riches. A large-scale nickel extraction scheme in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is one such endeavor, in which conflicts...

Watchdog Attacks US Swoop for Bank Secrets

Ian Traynor February 9, 2007
The transatlantic conflict over privacy rights and international security continues as the leading European authority on data protection announced that a US financial information-sharing program abuses privacy rights “on a massive scale,” reports “The Guardian.” For the past six years, the US has collected names, account numbers and sums from European banking transactions through the Belgian-...

Thai Move to Trim Drug Costs Highlights Growing Patent Rift

Nicholas Zamiska February 8, 2007
Thailand’s plan to lower the price of pharmaceuticals for its citizens by ignoring existing patents reignites the debate between health advocates and supporters of intellectual-property rights. At the center of the conflict is a dispute over what will save the most lives in the long term. By ignoring patents, the government can lower its drug costs and therefore provide twice as many people with...

Different Paths of Asian Giants

Ramkishen S. Rajan January 29, 2007
The rapid emergence of China and India dramatically transformed the global economy during the last decade. But the two countries have pursued contrasting strategies: China’s industrialization has been fueled by public-sector investments and large-scale foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing; India’s has been driven largely by domestic companies and entrepreneurs. More recently, however...