In The News

International Bodies, Government Seek Ways to Deter Corruption in Aid

Tony Hotland April 7, 2005
Newspapers are reporting that the Indonesian government may have used tsunami relief money to purchase an eight million dollar villa for their ambassador to Switzerland. The report has prompted an uproar from Indonesians and international donors, who fear further misuse of relief money. Given the scope of reconstruction projects, say donors, well-connected officials in any affected country could...

‘Food Should Be Left Off the Free Trade Table’

April 6, 2005
Many economists believe that trade liberalization is the main driving force that created today's dynamic international market. The increasing exchange of goods and services produced and sold around the world have far-reaching implications for different localities – for better and for worse. One important area of world trade concerning this local and global relationship is agriculture, which...

‘Food Should Be Left Off the Free Trade Table’ - José Bové

April 6, 2005
At the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, Bové attended a workshop with prominent Yale scholars and others in the university community to discuss the status of the global peasant movement and the core issues in his work. A full transcript follows. – YaleGlobal

Opponents of Wal-Mart to Coordinate Efforts

Steven Greenhouse April 5, 2005
Is Wal-Mart bad for workers? The global retailing giant says that consumers benefit from its consistently low prices. Critics, however, contend that those low prices are built on poverty-level wages and minimal benefits. In the United States, a newly formed alliance of labor unions, environmentalists, community organizations, and students will pressure Wal-Mart to change the way it does business...

Curry in Hot Garlic Sauce

Simon Long March 31, 2005
China, the world's most populous country, looks set to become one of the 21st century's main movers and shakers. Analysts speak in less glowing terms about China's neighbor and budding rival, India. The subcontinental giant has years of catch-up to play to match China's startlingly rapid rise. Yet Simon Long argues that despite its delayed entrance into the free-market game,...

Brazil: Free Software's Biggest and Best Friend

Todd Benson March 29, 2005
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has surprised many of his conservative critics by adopting some of the free-market policies that he once opposed. But foreign business leaders – especially those at Microsoft – have been less pleased with da Silva's support for free software. Under the President's orders, all government agencies must gradually shift from Microsoft's...

India's Knowledge Economy

Guy de Jonquières March 29, 2005
A visit to the gleaming corporate campuses of Bangalore shatters most myths about India's outsourcing industry. Some people still believe that Indian outsourcing companies pay a bunch of PhDs pitifully low wages to do menial drudgework while working in sweatshops. "If these are sweatshops, the Ritz hotel is a doss-house," writes FT columnist Guy de Jonquières. And the research and...