In The News

Words of Concern, Walls of Deterrence: Refugees Pushed Out to Sea

Aurélie Ponthieu April 20, 2015
The numbers of grossly overloaded vessels of all types, carrying desperate migrants from Syria and other conflict zones, are on the rise. More than 20,000 have died in recent years, and more than 200,000 took the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean in 2014 alone. Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, has announced it will launch search-and-rescue operations in the sea. “The...

The Curse of Chávez’s Ghost

María Elena Candia March 27, 2015
In the wake of the abrupt drop in global oil prices, Venezuelans have experienced a shortage of food, paper goods and medicines. The Maduro administration makes no effort on economic reforms and instead blames the United States for its heavy dependence on oil revenues and other economic troubles. “There is still no commitment from the government to hike the cost of gasoline, which is heavily...

Japan Can’t Close Door on Immigrants

Kwan Weng Kin March 25, 2015
Japan’s looming demographic crisis is well known and widespread prejudices against immigrants may cripple the country’s ability to address the problem. Japan’s population could decline by a third over the next 50 years, and observers view immigration as the only viable solution to labor shortages in the Japanese economy. At present, foreigners constitute 1.6 percent of Japan’s population, and...

New Fees, Regulations on Tap for Employers of Foreign Workers

Tara Carman February 23, 2015
Canada is backing away from open borders for skilled labor. New rules require employers who hope to hire a foreign worker must submit copies of the employment offer, details about their business operations and a $230 fee. The government’s aim is to protect Canadian workers against displacement, with the new requirements applying only to businesses that don’t conduct Labor Market Impact...

Welcome To Brazil: The Effect of Immigration on the Country's Economy

Arthur Pinheiro Machado January 9, 2015
Countries benefit by attracting and retaining highly qualified immigrants. New entrepreneurs create business and jobs, and can be key to economic development. Secure emerging economies are particularly attractive, and Brazil has seen a recent inflow of such skilled workers, with temporary immigrant numbers rising 135 percent in the last six years. But as Arthur Pinheiro Machado writes in Forbes...

Drone Patrols on US Border Ineffective, Report Finds

Jack Nicas January 7, 2015
Military-grade drones are too costly and ineffective for US border patrol, suggests a US inspector general report. “Customs and Border Protection has used drones since 2004 to aid investigations and patrol borders,” reports Jack Nicas for the Wall Street Journal. “The Inspector General report estimated the drone program cost $62.5 million in fiscal 2013…. Some independent analysts and the...

Incredibly Unwell India

Nayan Chanda December 15, 2014
With bacterial diseases emerging that are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, governments should step up monitoring, develop new lines of treatment and prevent overuse. In his column for Businessworld, YaleGlobal Editor Nayan Chanda points out how a manufacturing hub for a product encourages consumer use: “The rise of the country’s $12.4 billion pharmaceutical industry, producer of nearly one-...