In The News

WHO, FAO Call for Global Fight to Halt Bird Flu

January 27, 2004
In Vietnam, another case of the bird flu has been found in a human. More worrying is that the flu has spread all across Southeast Asia as well as into Pakistan. Should the virus jump species, as did SARS, another major epidemic may be at hand. The World Health Organization has asked for an unspecified amount of money, saying that a vaccine may take up to six months to develop. Farmers are urged...

Human Bird Flu Cases Confirmed in Thailand

Nopporn Wong-Anan January 23, 2004
As six Thais tested positive for the bird flu, World Health Organization (WHO) officials raised alarm over a potential epidemic. The flu is believed to be carried by migrating birds, and could infect individuals in several countries. A potential epidemic will not only create a global public health crisis, but impede economic growth and tourism in the Asia- Pacific region. The bird flu outbreak...

WHO Warns of Mutating Bird Flu

January 22, 2004
A bird flu virus has the World Health Organization concerned. The extent to which the virus has spread across Asia has officials worried that if the virus mutates another major epidemic could be at hand. Already, one human case of the disease has been reported in Thailand. Given the impact of SARS last year, the worries of an influenza pandemic spreading quickly are well-founded. China has not...

No Boundaries in Fight Against Globalisation

January 21, 2004
In Mumbai, India this week, the annual meeting of the World Social Forum was full-on with speeches, music, and people blasting the ills of 'rapacious imperialism' and globalization. This report from India's Economic Times notes that a variety of ideas for reforming the capitalist world economy are being promoted at the WSF. Wolfgang Sachs said that consumerism and a drive for...

Globalisation: The Forgotten Strategy

Pankaj Ghemawat January 21, 2004
Multinational corporations have employed different global corporate strategies in their efforts to adapt to the growing mobility of capital resources. Originally, the approach was to use economies of scale to compete in foreign countries with large domestic markets. Large firms can use their size to average fixed costs over many more products, bringing overall costs down compared to their smaller...

U.S. Urged to Monitor Global Labor Policies

David Brown January 16, 2004
More can be done by government to encourage global best practices, say leaders of both multinational corporations and academic institutions. In fact, a study group comprised of businessmen and academics recently sent the US government 18 recommendations on social responsibility, such as requiring US companies to be liable for overseas actions, encouraging socially responsible purchasing by...

Why Globalisation Can't Work Globally

Leon Hadar January 14, 2004
Globalization has taken some hard blows recently, says this column in the Business Times. The rapid spread of SARS, the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, and rising protectionism stand as sharp counterpoints to the "Globalisation-is-the-Messiah" outlook of some observers in the 1990s. But to backtrack on economic globalization would risk throwing the baby out with the...