In The News

A Nation of Guinea Pigs

Jenifer Kahn March 14, 2006
Experimental drugs require large testing populations, which are increasingly hard to secure in the developed world. In 2005, the India government lifted restrictions on such testing by foreign-owned firms. So the pharmaceutical industry is outsourcing more trials. India has many advantages for such trials: English-speaking doctors; vast numbers of patients more willing to take experimental...

A Bush Alarm: Urging US to Shun Isolationism

David E. Sanger March 13, 2006
President Bush’s vision for US foreign policy has evolved in five years. During his first campaign for president, Bush promoted a “humble foreign policy” and avoided talk of globalization. With 9/11, benign neglect turned to a go-it-alone search for security, with the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq quickly following. But isolationist policies have not worked, and Bush is a late convert to the...

Is This the End of Globalization?

Heather Stewart March 10, 2006
The anti-globalization message – protecting jobs and traditional industries – has powerful appeal in a fast-changing world. History shows that the most successful economies are those that open themselves to foreign competition, yet economists still struggle to explain how free trade can benefit all players, especially when markets specialize at what they do best. More citizens of wealthy...

Anxious America – Part I

S.L. Bachman March 9, 2006
Americans tend to take contributions from foreigners for granted. But with the post- 9/11 obsession with security, the attitude is changing, leading to visa restrictions and worry about business deals that in the past raised nary a concern. In a two-part series, YaleGlobal examines the implication of this extra concern about security on US economic prosperity. Recently the announcement about a...

Seize Golden Opportunity of Rapid Globalization

Dave Young March 8, 2006
Current debates on China focus on its growing economic strength as a threat to the West. But China, moving from a rural to an urban economy, can also offer opportunity for the West. Over the next five years China will build more than 300 new cities, requiring expertise on infrastructure, financing and environmental protection. With China’s growing influence, the author says, world financial...

The Wild Web of China: Sex and Drugs, Not Reform

David Barboza March 8, 2006
While China’s internet censors block access to sensitive political subject matter, a booming online industry trades in sex, drugs, and just about anything else legal or illegal that turns a profit. Wall Street analysts predict that China, with its rapid internet growth, could lead in online commerce by 2010. Meanwhile, the Chinese pay en masse for online entertainment, with both criminals and...

German Firms and the Wild West of Globalization

March 7, 2006
Today, any company’s survival depends on its ability to follow the twists and turns of the global economy. Presiding over the game are investors, analysts and fund managers who demand profits. Success can be a Darwinian proposition, with corporate legacy no longer a priority – and three German firms provide case studies on strategies for adapting to rapid globalization and overseas competition...