In The News

Stitching Labor Change in Italy

Jennifer Clark April 17, 2006
Italy’s economy relies on traditional industries such as textiles and shoes—the type of products that China manufacturers have targeted as well. Facing rising foreign competition, more than 2000 Italian firms closed in 2005. But rather than fight outsourcing, Italian fashion-textile union leader Valeria Fedeli contends that the industry must “adapt or die.” Fedeli supports more tax breaks for...

Off the Job, Onto the Streets

Miriam Jordan April 16, 2006
As US Congress takes a vacation away from debating proposals aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration, immigrants and their supporters remind the rest of the US how much the country depends on their work. Latino workers have walked off their jobs in droves, joining large pro-immigrant demonstrations in more than 100 cities. The protests forced some employers to scramble and close a gap...

Globalization’s Second Death?

Niall Ferguson April 13, 2006
Globalization is in trouble when the US adopts a protectionist stance, argues Niall Ferguson. Extreme proposals, such as building an enormous fence along the US-Mexican border, reveal an isolationist attitude that could extend beyond the immigration issue. Politicians scrutinize the movement of labor, capital and goods in a way that calls to mind what Ferguson labels the “death of globalization”...

NATO Role in Darfur on Table

Bradley Graham April 13, 2006
The Bush administration has proposed sending several hundred North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) advisors to the Darfur region of Sudan. The advisors would aid African Union troops in protecting civilians in Darfur from the ongoing clash of government-supported Arab militias and rebel fighters. This stage of conflict in Darfur originated in 2003 when rebels initiated combat with the Arab-...

A Nation of Immigrants Clashes Over the Future

Georg Mascolo April 12, 2006
In 2005, the US arrested 1.2 million people attempting to cross the US-Mexico border in Arizona’s Arivaca Valley. About half that number were successful journeying through the treacherous desert, encouraged by words on the Statue of Liberty that welcome immigrants from the world over – “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free.” The US estimates that 11 million...

Visa for Cream

Sanjay Suri April 12, 2006
Historically, Britain relied on immigrants from India for factory help and other jobs that the British didn’t want to do. Immigration resulted in a British community of 2 million Indians, many who met with great success. But now the UK has tinkered with its immigration rules to reject poor workers from former colonies Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and elsewhere and target workers with information-...

In France, an Economic Bullet Goes Unbitten

Floyd Norris April 11, 2006
Most European politicians recognize the grim truth – that economic reform is necessary for global competition and that youth cannot expect the many benefits now enjoyed by elders. Generous retirement and other social benefits correlate with high unemployment among youth. Corporate executives have suggested that politicians must make the difficult decisions that lead to economic reform, likely...