In The News

Deglobalization

Daniel Gross December 14, 2009
As the world economic crisis unfolded, it revealed globalization’s most vulnerable element: trade. Though shrinking for the first time since World War II, world economic growth dipped only slightly compared with the precipitous drop in world trade. In response, state governments and international businesses began rethinking the supposed efficiency of globalization. Businesses are moving toward...

US Opinion Turns Against the Globalism of its President

Bruce Stokes December 10, 2009
All of President Obama’s internationalist and multi-lateral policies may come to naught if he cannot convince Americans that such a strategy is in their best interest. Moreover, if American public opinion cannot be reversed, an insular country could erode US international standing and weaken its ability to obtain a consensus on a wide range of issues, according to columnist Bruce Stokes....

Falling Dollar Pushes Manufacturing Out of Europe

Dinah Deckstein, Frank Dohmen, Dietmar Hawranek, Alexander Jung December 10, 2009
With the secular decline in the US dollar, some manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz that face rising costs and lower competitiveness are moving some production from Germany to the US. Normally, such companies hedge their exchange rate exposure through derivative contracts to protect them against rapid depreciation of foreign currencies. But such contracts become more expensive amid a sustained...

How Europe's Discarded Computers Are Poisoning Africa's Kids

Clemens Höges December 9, 2009
Twenty years ago, the international community drew up the Basel Convention in order to prevent developed nations from dumping their computer scraps in the developing world. Yet, the last two decades have shown that enforcing such a treaty is difficult. Some countries, such as the US, still haven't ratified the treaty; meanwhile, those who have, such as Germany, still struggle to abide by it...

Is a US Brain Drain on the Horizon?

Vivek Wadhwa December 8, 2009
While a second Great Depression may have been averted, the unintended consequences of the Great Recession are just beginning to be felt. One such effect is reverse migration. As noted immigration researcher Vivek Wadhwa reveals, many foreign-born workers in high-tech industries are returning home or contemplating such a return. The reasons for this are many, including better economic prospects or...

China ”Wants to Set Up Factories in Africa”

Tania Branigan December 7, 2009
China’s relationship with Africa has been criticized as one focused solely on procuring natural resources. But Beijing is trying to improve this image by potentially moving lower-value manufacturing facilities to sub-Saharan Africa in possible partnership with the World Bank. In the process, this step may help African states develop a manufacturing base and improve their economies. But Africa...

U.S. Faces Rising Resistance to Its Latin American Policy

Jose de Cordoba, David Luhnow December 4, 2009
Recent developments in Latin America − Brazil’s rising power, China’s growing influence, and Venezuela’s anti-American bloc − are undercutting American influence in a region where the US has long maintained a preeminent position. The Obama administration is finding more resistance to its plans and decisions. This was seen most recently in the failure of an American plan to resolve the political...