In The News

Via Ireland, a Chapter in the Story of Black America

S. Lee Jamison March 17, 2003
Recent studies of African American names reveal interesting interactions between African Americans and Irish immigrants in the 1800s in America. According to the author of "Black Genealogy", hair and skin color of both Blacks and Irish made them subject to discrimination from mainstream Protestant society in the North before the Civil War. Although such shared discrimination created...

More Japanese Saying Sayonara to Düsseldorf

Stephan Finsterbusch March 14, 2003

Indonesia Must Integrate with World to Advance

Hans W. Vriens March 14, 2003
While many countries experience large inflows of foreign direct investment, Indonesia has a net outflow of investment monies. In two recent rankings, the country appeared at the bottom of the barrel in terms of economic integration with the world. Despite the elation of some Indonesian intellectuals at their country's de-globalized status, writes consultant Hans Vriens, economic...

Microsoft Pact Not Much of a Deal

Jerry Fong 馮震宇 March 11, 2003
US-based Microsoft Corporation, manufacturer of the Windows operating system that runs the majority of computers around the world, has embedded itself more deeply into yet another country. Taiwanese IT companies and IT analysts are not too thrilled about the ROC Fair Trade Commission’s new pact with Microsoft. Jerry Fong, professor of Law at National Chengchi University, highlights major faults...

Feasible Exit Strategy Needed for IMF Parting

Ari A. Perdana March 10, 2003
Has the IMF helped or hurt Indonesia? At the end of its five year stint, mixed evaluations raise more questions than answers. Some argue that with economic growth as low as 3 percent per year during the IMF’s presence, and with questionable policy prescriptions such as the closure of 16 banks in 1997, Indonesia should not bother extending its contract. Others look back more positively at the “...

Calling Elvis, Anybody Home?

Seema Sirohi March 7, 2003
Should American politicians emphasize economic efficiency to cut costs in government or should they first and foremost seek to protect US workers' jobs? As the economy continues to decline in the US, some people are saying that it's time to move American jobs back to America. Over the past several years Fortune 500 companies like GE and American Express have shifted a great deal of...

Fawlty Globalisation

M.J. Akbar March 6, 2003
Providing space for economic refugees is the key to maintaining a balanced globalization. The countries that have best accommodated economic refugees, like the US and India, are the ones that also tend to benefit the most from the skills these individuals bring. But the worry is that countries want cheap labor while constraining the diversity that migration entails. Multi-ethnic India serves as a...