In The News

Small Islands’ Migration Drama

Dominic Bailey September 28, 2006
Sunbathing tourists have discovered unexpected company on the beaches of the Canary Islands lately, as boatloads of West African migrants wash up on the shores of this Spanish possession just off the Moroccan coast. These migrants make the life-threatening crossing to flee political upheaval in regions like Senegal’s separatist Casamance province and to seek better lives in the schools and labor...

An Interview With Claus Frederiksen

September 26, 2006
The following is a transcript of Nayan Chanda's interview with Danish Minister for Employment Claus Frederiksen, conducted on September 13, 2006. The minister explains Denmark’s “flexicurity” policy, which gives employers flexibility in hiring and firing while offering ample job assistance and re-training to the unemployed. – YaleGlobal

Migrants Enrich Ever More Anxious Host

Stefan Wagstyl September 26, 2006
Economists argue that immigration is good for a country’s overall growth – even as some national leaders concede that controlling immigration is near impossible. But other analysts question the social costs of alienation of many Muslims or resentment from working-class Britons about high unemployment rates. Some anxiety also emerges about growth in and of itself, as populations swell and strain...

S. Koreans Search Far and Wide for a Wife

Barbara Demick September 25, 2006
Tens of thousands of South Korean men look to China, Vietnam and beyond for wives, in response to a shortage of brides caused by a generation of gender-selective births. Since ultrasounds became widely available in the 1980s, parents in South Korea could screen out undesirable daughters, resulting in a gender imbalance of 113 males for every 100 females. The countryside’s shortage of marriage-...

Safe Passage

Geoff Brumfiel September 11, 2006
After the 9/11 attacks five years ago, the US was paranoid about attacks from any direction, including foreign scientists. Congress passed legislation requiring face-to-face interviews with every visa applicant and background checks were particularly onerous for the likes of physicists, engineers and chemists. It was not uncommon for scientists, even those renown in their fields, to undergo...

Made in Italy at Chinese Prices

Fiona Ehlers September 8, 2006
During the Middle Ages, cities in Europe used high walls and moats to protect their residents from invaders. Modern globalization has changed all that: Textile jobs gradually moved from Europe to low-wage countries in Asia. But now textile jobs return to Europe, as Chinese workers relocate and set up business. The Italian city of Prato has a strong community of Chinese workers, both legal and...

Why Globalization Is in Trouble – Part II

Branko Milanovic August 31, 2006
Globalization has spurred inequality – both among citizens in the wealthiest countries as well as among nations of the developing world. The second of this two-part series by Branco Milanovic explores the growing resentment as only a few poor countries adjust to globalization. China and India compete globally, and yet only a fraction of their citizens prosper. Increasing inequality between rural...