In The News

A New Vocabulary for Trade

Jagdish Bhagwati August 4, 2005
Globalization is a complex phenomenon, which New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman has famously explained with the metaphor of a "flat world." According to fellow globalization expert Jagdish Bhagwati, however, "The notion of a flat world is as wrong metaphorically now as it was when Copernicus showed it to be literally wrong." Bhagwati charges that Friedman's word...

The Descent of Man

Dennis Lim August 3, 2005
Darwin's Nightmare, Hubert Sauper's new documentary released in the United States this week, chronicles an evolutionary and globalization-related predicament. Decades ago, the Nile perch was introduced to the waters of Lake Victoria in Tanzania, with the aim of replenishing over-fished waters. In the years since, the six-foot fish have proved a lucrative export for Tanzania, but a...

China Bug – Is It Ebola-like Bird Flu?

Andy Ho July 28, 2005
China’s official Xinhua news agency recently ascribed the deaths and illnesses of 68 people in Sichuan province to a common swine bug called streptococcus suis. A close examination, however, raises speculation that provincial authorities may be prevaricating. Not only is this infection rare in human beings, but the bacterium can be readily treated and seldom leads to mortality. China’s...

A Thai Remedy for High Health Costs

Nick Cumming-Bruce July 27, 2005
“American companies have outsourced just about everything else but never thought of outsourcing health care,” says Curtis Schroeder, chief executive of Bumrungrad hospital in Thailand. “Now they are.” Bumrungrad in particular, but also some of its rival hospitals are enjoying a new international prominence as patients from the U.S., Europe, Asia and the Middle East flock to Thailand for...

Toyota, Moving Northward

Paul Krugman July 25, 2005
When Toyota decided to build a new assembly plant in Canada's Ontario, despite being wooed by many American states, they opted for a location with a publicly funded health care scheme as well as high-quality public education. The idea that big government can actually help attract global business is a commonplace in Canada, but is anathema to most American decision makers. If more businesses...

With New Clue to How SARS Kills, Scientists Work on Treatment

Elisabeth Rosenthal July 15, 2005
In 2003, the SARS virus killed almost 800 people and reminded the world of our vulnerability to epidemic disease. Two years later, scientists may have learned why the virus is so deadly. A team of scientists from Europe and Asia seem to have discovered how SARS fills the lungs with fluid, initiating acute respiratory distress syndrome. Their findings could lead to a new treatment that would...

Killing the Chickens Before They Kill Us

Gerald Traufetter July 13, 2005
When the Netherlands was besieged with infected birds two years ago, Harm Kiezebrink designed mobile bird-killing machines and slaughtered millions of birds. Now, he has moved his contraptions to Asia, where a deadly bird flu virus (H5N1) has rampaged through multiple countries over the last 18 months. Because the virus would spread quickly and widely among humans if were to genetically mutate...