In The News

'Hello, this is India. Can I help you?'

Daniel Sneider August 10, 2003
The instantaneous nature of modern communication has allowed the customer service industry to follow its counterparts in manufacturing and move overseas. With numbers that are almost doubling annually, Indians are coming to work in call centers to answer questions about bills, credit cards, and insurance. American companies in particular are eager to take advantage of a cheap, highly educated,...

For Now, Hong Kong Protests Do Not Faze Investors

Frank Ching July 29, 2003
In Hong Kong, the recent mass demonstrations against proposed anti-subversion legislation have not shaken foreign investors' confidence. In the following essay, Frank Ching argues that while anti-government political activism might scare off investors in most countries, Hong Kong has benefited from its international reputation as a stable and investor-friendly economy. However, Ching says...

Hail Britannia!

Immanuel Wallerstein July 25, 2003
In the lead up to the invasion of Iraq – and especially with the difficulties the US has encountered since – there is a renewed interest in the historical experience of past imperial efforts. Not surprisingly, the publication of British historian Niall Ferguson's provocative history of the British Empire has aroused special interest. In this review of the book, noted historian and World...

We Didn't Start the Fire: Capitalism and Its Critics, Then and Now

Sheri Berman July 24, 2003
It seems that the recent era of globalization is what’s fueling a controversy over the merits of capitalism, but historian Jerry Muller’s book, “The Mind and the Market: Capitalism in Modern European Thought,” reminds us that capitalism has had its critics since at least the 18th century. Capitalism is a relatively new system in the trajectory of human history, says this review essay. However,...

Spirit of the Tiger (and Wild West)

Jane Perlez July 22, 2003
A traditional Javanese dance drama has begun to incorporate elements from American movies. Javanese men perform the traditional dance - a depiction of the historic indigenous resistance against Dutch colonialists - at important village events. This traditional art form has survived in spite of modernization and the increased integration of the Javanese region into the global economy. However,...

A Generation on the Move in Europe

Keith B. Richburg July 22, 2003
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a new Generation E (Europe) has emerged, bringing into question long-revered notions of national identity and culture among Europeans. World War II solidified national identity because it was fought along national lines. But the younger Generation E, comprised of elite and middle class university educated Europeans, is well acquainted with...

IBM Explores Shift of White-Collar Jobs Overseas

Steven Greenhouse July 22, 2003
The conventional wisdom on globalization in the US has held that unskilled jobs will gradually shift overseas, leaving American workers free to perform higher-paid, white-collar jobs. But now that IBM is considering moving millions of white-collar jobs to countries like India and China, politicians and technology workers are crying foul. Corporations like IBM argue that moving service jobs...