In The News

Germans Agree to Admit Skilled Immigrants

May 27, 2004
German politicians have finally agreed on a progressive new immigration policy that will allow skilled non-European workers to enter and reside in the country. had spent three years working on the legislation. After much consultation and political wrangling, said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, a balance was struck between Greens who wanted a more liberal policy and groups who feared that...

WTO Hands a Critical Victory to African Farmers

Gayle E. Smith, Susan E. Rice May 21, 2004
Last September's WTO ministerial meeting in Cancun failed to produce a substantive trade agreement after a group of developing countries banded together to demand the EU and the US discontinue their multi-billion dollar subsidy programs. When the EU and US resisted, the talks fell apart. But the latest ruling by the WTO against US cotton subsidies may help push through the Cancun...

A Change in the Climate

Vanessa Houlder May 19, 2004
The efficacy of the 1997 Kyoto environmental treaty, designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, hangs on Russia’s actions in the coming months. The protocol requires the participation of 55 percent of industrialized nations, and without Russian support, it lacks a deciding vote. Internal debate in Russia has focused the potential economic impacts on its struggling economy; those in...

On China's Rise

Ernesto Zedillo May 18, 2004
Ernesto Zedillo, director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and former president of Mexico, recently visited China, where he attended a regionally important Asian economic conference. In this column in Forbes Magazine, he pens his impressions of China's economic development, gathered from public and private meetings with Chinese government officials during his trip. Zedillo...

Globalisation in African continent

Syed Jamaluddin May 18, 2004
A host of factors, including the continent-wide financial, industrial, and political difficulties since the end of the colonial age have reduced economic performance in Africa to often pitiable levels. Despite starting “from behind” and the current obstacles to economic growth, this editorial highlights progress Africa has made, and the future development that can be speeded up by proper...

Oxfam Launches Fair Trade Coffee Chain

Tash Shifrin May 13, 2004
The growers of one of the world’s most globalized farm produce –coffee --may benefit from the worldwide concern about their plight. The UK based international development and aid agency, Oxfam and a private coffee company have launched a joint-venture: a chain of fair trade coffee shops named the Progreso Café. Fair trade coffee is the fast growing coffee sector in United Kingdom and provides...

A Transatlantic Divide

David Bowen May 13, 2004
David Bowen, a website effectiveness consultant for Bowen Craggs & Co., writes in this article on corporate website management that European companies use their websites to feature self-criticism in addition to standard self-promotion, resulting in effective counter-arguments against their critics. American companies, on the other hand, often omit any acknowledgement of criticism and instead...