In The News

The Poor Get Richer

Geoffrey Colvin March 17, 2006
Educators and politicians have long argued that a college degree provided substantially more income than the high-school degree. Now that income gap is showing small signs of closing; between 2000 and 2004, the income of high school graduates rose 1.6 percent, and the income of college graduates dropped 5.2 percent. The reason is disturbing, with the changing demands of a global economy, reducing...

One-Time Highways to Growth Take a Toll on the Japanese Economy

Yasuyo Yamazaki March 16, 2006
Japan's economy faces enormous challenges in the years ahead. It must both continue to compete with other fast-growing economies, like China, while finding a way to support and replace its aging work force. A critical challenge for Japan is how to handle the fast-graying population and the attendant health and retirement costs. By far the most problematic of such issues is the enormous...

Globalization Offered Two Ways: à la Carte and Prix Fixe

Daniel Gross March 15, 2006
US property owners love the high prices paid by foreign investors. But the nation can get prickly about some overseas investors: rejecting a Chinese oil company’s bid for Unocal in summer 2005 and an Arab firm’s proposal to manage operations of six US ports this month. Author Daniel Gross labels this tendency as “selective globalization syndrome.” Politicians attack symbolic deals, like the...

Lessons in Learning to Live With Giants

Daniel Altman March 15, 2006
Fledgling soft-drink companies who want to compete with the big three – Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Cadbury-Schwepps – face an uphill battle, even in their home markets. Developing countries embraced companies like Coca-Cola that made substantial contributions, such as building roads from distribution centers. Such infrastructure construction increased product distribution and improved government-...

That Good Education Might Not Be Enough

Peter G. Gosselin March 15, 2006
During a trip to India, US President Bush met with a group of talented Indian business students, and used the occasion to dispense advice to young Americans about pursuing an education to compete in the global marketplace. By now, everyone knows that because of lopsided wages, living costs and health care benefits across the globe, the students from India can work for less income than their US...

Economic Patriotism and the Mittal Effect on Europe

M.N. Hebbar March 14, 2006
France has rallied to prevent an Indian firm from taking over Arcelor, the largest steelmaker in Europe, suggesting that the continent is not serious about the free flow of capital, goods and services. French politicians claim they are motivated by “economic patriotism,” a synonym for protectionism, and urge investors and the board of directors to fight the purchase, defying their own best...

A Nation of Guinea Pigs

Jenifer Kahn March 14, 2006
Experimental drugs require large testing populations, which are increasingly hard to secure in the developed world. In 2005, the India government lifted restrictions on such testing by foreign-owned firms. So the pharmaceutical industry is outsourcing more trials. India has many advantages for such trials: English-speaking doctors; vast numbers of patients more willing to take experimental...