In The News

Transcript of Flattening World Challenges Imagination

April 13, 2007
The following is a transcript of Nayan Chanda's interview with Thomas Friedman, author of “The World Is Flat” and foreign-affairs columnist of “The New York Times,” conducted on March 30, 2007. Friedman talks about the latest edition of his bestselling book, provides advice on which categories of jobs can best be protected from outsourcing, and proposes an exit strategy from Iraq for the US...

Flattening World Challenges Imagination

April 13, 2007
Thomas L. Friedman, foreign-affairs columnist of “The New York Times,” whose “The World Is Flat” has become an international bestseller, says the process of flattening is intensifying. With multiplying distributive tools of innovation and collaboration, whatever can be done will be done, Friedman explains in this interview with YaleGlobal Editor Nayan Chanda on March 30, 2007. The question is who...

“Halal” Labels Experiencing a Supermarket Boom

Peter Ziegler April 13, 2007
Religions often provide strict guidelines on food choices and preparation. With more than 1.7 million Muslims spread throughout the world, food products that abide by the rules of Islam, labeled as “halal,” are the fastest growing segment in the food market. The world’s leading meat producers in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA are prepared to...

Who's Monitoring Chinese Food Exports?

Nicholas Zamiska April 13, 2007
Food inspectors have traced to China a contaminated ingredient in pet food that has killed an unknown number of animals. Wheat gluten is a common ingredient in pet food, cereal and pasta. The discovery of batches tainted with a pesticide illegal in the US raises questions about China's growing role in the international agricultural market. In 2006, 12 percent of world fruit and vegetable...

Even as Africa Hungers, Policy Slows Delivery of US Food Aid

Celia W. Dugger April 10, 2007
Intervention, even with the best intentions, can cause unforeseen tragic consequences. Thousands of people starve in Zambia, caught in a web of international health groups that supply drugs for AIDS, improving health yet increasing the pangs of hunger; weather patterns that deliver drought; local politicians who don’t want to release large food supplies; and wealthy nations in the West that...

Multinationals: Globalization's Offspring

April 10, 2007
Scrappy new multinational firms are emerging all over the world: Hindalco and Tata from India, Lenovo and PetroChina from China. “Just as Toyota and Samsung eventually obliged western multinationals to rethink how to make cars and consumer electronics, so today's young thrusters threaten the veterans wherever they are complacent,” notes this article in “The Economist.” The new firms are...

Stock Market Hiccups No Cause for Worry

Manu Bhaskaran April 5, 2007
Economists debate whether the financial interdependence of the modern world provides insulation against shocks or sets the stage for a chain reaction of woes. Every major power has its financial weak point – immense debt for the US; regional conflicts and poverty for India; and a lack of transparency for China combined with uncertainty over how communist leaders can control a population accruing...