In The News

Keeping Up With China's Olympic Shine – Part II

Alexandra Harney September 24, 2008
China has become known as factory to the world – as manufacturers invested in factories to take advantage of a labor force that accepts low wages and a government with minimal environmental standards and even less enforcement. Shoppers like low prices while the companies enjoy immense profits. China, indeed the entire world, pays a heavy price for manufacturing firms gathering in a place with...

Is Mexico the New China?

Rafael Rivero, Sara Miller Llana September 17, 2008
With uncertainty in oil prices and rising labor costs in Asia, Mexico is luring manufacturing jobs away from China. US companies seek manufacturers close to US markets, an attempt to curb transport costs. Chinese workers also demand protections and higher wages. An emphasis on public and worker education also attracts jobs: Mexico has emphasized worker education, which complements value-added...

Diagnosing at a Distance

Margot Cohen September 10, 2008
The poor are often the last to benefit from technological leaps in health care. But trained physicians and technological advances combined with the presence of a large number of poor dispersed throughout the Indian countryside could usher in changes for health-care delivery. Rapidly declining costs of satellite and internet connections allow caregivers to use telemedicine and reach more patients...

Too Big to Fail?

Peter S. Goodman July 24, 2008
The US has long been wary about moral hazard in financing – the fact that any expectation of rescues can increase risk-taking behavior. In the past, US capitalists urged stern measures, expecting companies and countries to pursue risks and accept losses if their ventures failed. As an economic recession looms, the US government increasingly engages in its own interventions, including a measure to...

Indian Investors Enter the Caribbean

Loro Horta July 8, 2008
Following the footsteps of China, Indian firms have been investing in the Caribbean nations, building infrastructure in exchange for the opportunity to purchase natural resources. Foreign direct investments represent a large slice of the Caribbean economic pie; China and India could effectively determine the speed and direction of some nations’ growth, explains analyst Loro Horta, visiting...

An Uncertain Victory for China’s Workers

Lyle Morris June 24, 2008
China’s expansion, fueled by cheap exports that poorly paid workers produce, may slow with a new labor law in force. The law aims to protect laborers and improve global perceptions of China’s human-rights record. Companies in China, both domestic and foreign, have been notorious about hiring workers with short-term contracts. The law provides higher wages and greater job security, including a...

Can the US Bring Jobs Back from China?

Pete Engardio June 23, 2008
Despite a decline in the dollar and a spike in oil prices, finding a US manufacturer eager to develop prototypes for new products or compete for contracts is not easy. Not only does the US fail to compete in industries that require ample cheap labor, it also struggles to compete in terms of innovation. “American factories and supplier networks in many industries have withered in the era of...