In The News

The Last 'Competitive Advantage': Letter From China

Jehangir S. Pocha June 12, 2007
Workers of the West resent the transfer of manufacturing jobs to China, as companies pursue cost advantages and low wages. With good jobs hard to come by, the Chinese have little choice but to work long days for low wages. Some employers withhold wages altogether. Allowing competition to take its course and viewing jobs of any sort as the best way to alleviate poverty, the Chinese government has...

In Nouveau Riche India, Even the Poor Show Off

Mark Sappenfield June 11, 2007
A nation that once relied on castes to categorize its citizens can now use possessions to reflect self-worth. Enjoying exploding income growth, consumers in India seek out the latest technology to reflect status. This trend emerges across all socioeconomic levels, with a recent study showing that spending across all economic segments is up by about 50 percent, reports The Christian Science...

Outsourcing Your Life

Ellen Gamerman June 11, 2007
No longer just a trend for big businesses, outsourcing can also eliminate some pesky personal tasks: categorizing family photos, editing home videos, tutoring, preparing invitations, and design of anything from dresses to garden landscapes to websites. Businesses and individuals alike hunt for projects that can be accomplished over the internet and appropriate freelancers. But choosing the proper...

Chinese Auto Parts Enter the Global Market

Keith Bradsher June 8, 2007
Auto parts are one of China’s fastest growing industrial exports, and more than half go to the US, the world’s largest market for automobiles. The rise in these exports are part of a larger trend, as China moves away from exporting basic items such as textiles and shoes toward more valued industrial goods. Such production means higher wages for Chinese workers, but also puts the nation in...

Lack of Women in Eastern Germany Feeds Neo-Nazis

June 1, 2007
After the fall of the Berlin Wall, many East Germans left their communities in search of education, jobs and other opportunity. But the Berlin Institute for Population and Development reports that most of the emigrants have been young women – with some communities in East Germany losing up to 25 percent of their young women. East Germany has the distinction of leading Europe with such a gender...

Lost In Translation

June 1, 2007
As part of an ongoing blame game between China and the US, Washington officials want reevaluation of the yuan. However, China actually could gain the most from any reevaluation. First, the yuan may not be undervalued all that much. China’s large bilateral trade surplus reflects a changing supply chain in Asia. The US used to buy goods from other Asian nations, but today China imports goods from...

Outsourcing a Womb

Gagandeep Kaur May 31, 2007
Physicians first relied on surrogate wombs to assist women who, for health reasons, could not bear children of their own. But healthy career women from Singapore and India, who did not want to take any time off from their work, have also turned to surrogates as well, reports Gagandeep Kaur in the Hindu Business Line. Many doctors reject such requests, but with the number of inquiries on the rise...