In The News

Immigration, Populations, Climate Change, Ideologies

J. Russell Tyldesley July 6, 2007
Conflict over immigration, economic growth, climate change, territorial claims, limited energy or water supplies all increase as the world grows more crowded. Such conflicts would be easier to resolve if population growth slowed, argues J. Russell Tyldesley. The world’s population now stands at more than 6.5 billion, as compared with 1.5 billion in 1900, 2.5 billion in 1950, with more than 9...

EU Globalization Fund Questioned

George Parker July 5, 2007
The EU created a fund to assist those who have lost jobs due to global competition. But the fund has received a mere two requests for aid, prompting speculation about whether global competition really harms European jobs, reports The Financial Times. France was the most enthusiastic supporter of the fund and so far is the only country that has applied for funding. France wants money to retrain...

Fast, Freewheeling Globalization for All

Susan Froetschel July 5, 2007
Any attempts to analyze globalization must wrestle with its heady speed. Daniel Altman’s latest book, Connected: 24 Hours in the Global Economy, is one such effort. Altman, who also writes a column on managing globalization for the International Herald Tribune, uses a sample of events from a single day – June 15, 2005 – to analyze all manner of economic connections. He suggests that every person...

A Lesson That Thomas Could Teach

David Leonhardt June 29, 2007
For the past two decades, US firms have relied on an outsourcing strategy: They move manufacturing operations overseas where they can employ workers for low wages, distancing themselves from production and condoning secrecy about factory practices. But this strategy has repercussions: After learning that Thomas the Tank Engine toys, manufactured in China, have lead paint, businesses tried to...

The Double Edge of Globalization

Nayan Chanda June 28, 2007
Activists have long accused global corporations of being bad environmental citizens. But the problems of climate change and deforestation are part of a larger phenomenon, in which globalization is but one factor among many. As Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal, discusses in his new book “Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalization,” international...

Expert View: Outsourcing Is Out – It's a Political Cold Potato

Chris Walker June 28, 2007
Companies began outsourcing tasks, including payroll processing, in the 1960s. As the information-technology sector grew, so did the number of outsourced jobs. Today, all types of jobs, from low-level data entry to the transfer of intellectual property, are outsourced from high-wage to low-wage areas. Experts estimate that in India, call centers employ more than a million people, which some...

A New Deal for Globalization

Kenneth F. Scheve June 27, 2007
Globalization – through education, trade and innovation – has delivered immense benefits for the US. But wages have declined, even for workers with college degrees. Only workers with doctorate or professional graduate degrees – less than 4 percent of the work force – experienced earnings growth between 2000 and 2005. Unskilled and low-skilled workers make up the majority of the US labor force....