In The News

Thai PM Risks Losing Populist Touch

Tim Luard January 28, 2004
Thailand's prime minister may be the next victim of the avian bird flu - politically speaking, at least. After denying the disease was a problem for weeks, Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra was forced to change his tune when it became apparent that thousands of small chicken growers - part of his political base - were going to lose livestock and perhaps even their own lives. Thaksin has proven his...

Cost Differentials and Labour Flexibility Mean Opportunity for Outsourcing

Edward Alden January 28, 2004
Although the US Senate just passed an amendment to prevent the outsourcing of government work to foreign countries, private-sector business in the US won't be following suit. According to this Financial Times article, sending more blue-collar and white-collar work to India and elsewhere is a smart business play for companies in the US, the UK, and other countries with relatively high labor...

WHO, FAO Call for Global Fight to Halt Bird Flu

January 27, 2004
In Vietnam, another case of the bird flu has been found in a human. More worrying is that the flu has spread all across Southeast Asia as well as into Pakistan. Should the virus jump species, as did SARS, another major epidemic may be at hand. The World Health Organization has asked for an unspecified amount of money, saying that a vaccine may take up to six months to develop. Farmers are urged...

Foreign Makes Top Brands List

Choosak Jirasakulthai January 27, 2004
Thais prefer foreign brands to domestic ones, a recent survey shows. Japan's manufacturers appear to be the most favored with Toyota, Mitsubishi, and Sanyo all receiving top marks. But Korea's LG, Taiwan's Acer, and Finland's Nokia also performed well. Thais did well in real estate, but that is to be expected, as national law prevents foreign ownership. While Japan still seems...

Education Is No Protection

Bob Herbert January 26, 2004
Columnist Bob Herbert begins his New York Times op-ed with a critique of a conference held in New York to update executives on the new trend of outsourcing white collar jobs to countries with an educated but cheaper workforce. Such 'upscale outsourcing' is a relatively new phenomenon in much of corporate America. In the current US job market, prospects for white collar jobs already look...

One Hand Clapping in the Caucasus

Kenneth Weisbrode January 26, 2004
As Georgia's newly elected president takes office this week, much of the world has high hopes for the future of his new government. Outsiders have been trying to influence developments in Georgia and neighboring Azerbaijan for some time now, says Eurasia scholar Kenneth Weisbrode, but if recent history is any indication, the path to stability in the Caucasus region is still quite rocky....

Cuba Ailing? Not Its Biomedical Industry

Tom Fawthrop January 26, 2004
One does not frequently hear of Cuba when discussing today's integrating global economy. Cuba appears isolated, politically and economically, mainly due to trade restrictions placed on it by the US in the 1960's. No wonder, says the author of this Straits Times article, the world is surprised to learn of Cuba's flourishing biotech industry which has contributed much to the field of...