In The News

Three Faces of Globalization

Franklin L. Lavin April 30, 2003
US President Bush and Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong met in Washington to sign a bilateral free trade agreement between the two countries. This will contribute to the opening up of barriers to economic globalization and, as Franklin Lavin, US ambassador to Singapore, points out, improve existing cross-border cooperation in the construction of barriers to two other facets of globalization...

Asean to Take Tough Joint Action

Bertha Henson April 30, 2003
SARS is taking its toll on Southeast Asian economies as travel advisories warn businessmen and tourists to steer clear of countries with high numbers of SARS cases. To combat further economic damage, ASEAN leaders convened in an emergency summit in Bangkok to agree on a unified strategy for containing the spread of SARS and reducing the panic that has been caused by it. In the proposal, people...

Global Finance Firms Plan Huge Jobs Reshuffle

Catherine Ong April 29, 2003
The worldwide improvement in telecommunications that has occurred in the last several years has opened the doors for new business opportunities with significant consequences for the global economic community. Now, with more and more countries offering multinational corporations a prosperous haven by promising cheap and reliable infrastructure and technical support, the largest firms have begun...

A New War Over Iraq

Joshua Chaffin April 27, 2003
Although the dust has barely settled from the fighting in Baghdad, international companies are already lobbying intensely for lucrative contracts to rebuild Iraq. The extent of reconstruction, the risks involved, and the specific roles for local, national and international stakeholders is yet to be determined. The success of the reconstruction efforts also depends on the development of...

Half in Germany, Half in Poland

Frank Pergande April 25, 2003
Poland’s pending membership in the European Union should, in theory, offer great benefits to towns on the border between Germany and Poland. The divisions created in 1945 had severe economic consequences for some small border towns. EU membership for Poland and cross-border trade between these poor German and Polish towns could make a difference. Studies caution, however, that most economic...

SARS: Wake-Up Call for a Strong Global Health Policy

Ilona Kickbusch April 25, 2003
As the economic consequences of Sars become more and more apparent, countries are scrambling for solutions. However, argues Ilona Kickbusch, Professor of Global Health at Yale University's School of Public Health, individual nation-states are unequipped to manage something like Sars by themselves. In an interconnected world, we must acknowledge the truly global nature of public health, and...

Fight Against SARS: Government to Seek Exit Checks

April 24, 2003
The Public Health Ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) are scheduled to meet in Malaysia to discuss specific proposals for regional cooperation to combat further spread of SARS. Thailand’s proposals include the screening of all departing passengers, the establishment of a regional website to share SARS related information, and the exchange of medical professionals...