In The News

France Deals With Globalization Crisis – Part I

Pierre-Noel Giraud January 24, 2012
Multinational companies have shifted manufacturing operations and research and development from West to East, taking advantage of low wages and huge Asian markets poised for growth. On the global trade front, countries like France feel battered, and political leaders increasingly toy with protectionism. This YaleGlobal series offers ideas on how nations can optimize globalization’s benefits. In...

Help Wanted: In Unexpected Twist, Some Skilled Jobs Go Begging

Ben Casselman December 6, 2011
Industries are struggling to hire skilled workers for welding, wiring, drill-rigging and machine-work, but such abilities may be vanishing in the United States. “Data show the skills gap doesn't exist in whole industries but in specific jobs, including certain heavy-duty blue-collar ones,” reports Ben Casselman in an article for the Wall Street Journal. The shortages have boosted pay rates...

The Magic of Diasporas

November 23, 2011
Citizens in troubled economies like the US and Europe are increasingly lashing out against immigration. Such blame is misplaced. Fears about depressed wages, stretched benefit programs and brain drain are exaggerated, suggests this article in the Economist, and governments must do a better job of educating voters about “the growing economic importance of diasporas, and the contribution they can...

The Shadow Superpower

Robert Neuwirth November 10, 2011
The world has a significant informal economy, employing half the world’s workforce and estimated to be worth $10 trillion, excluding blatantly illegal activities. The so-called System D, slang from French-speaking Africa and the Caribbean, can no longer go ignored by policymakers, argues Robert Neuwirth for Foreign Policy. The actions of street vendors, barterers, garage sale operators, impromptu...

Technology Boosts Bangladesh Migrant Job Search

Anbarasan Ethirajan November 9, 2011
The Bangladeshi government has turned to technology to assist its citizens in looking for jobs overseas. Any worker can now post his or her resume, national identification and passport details on a government website portal, which can then be viewed by foreign employers. This process reduces transaction costs related to attaining jobs overseas, particularly payoffs to corrupt middlemen, and rural...

Denying Imbalances, G20 Risks Chaos – Part I

Shen Dingli November 4, 2011
After the Asian financial crisis in 1997-98, a group of developed and emerging economies came together as the G20 to stabilize global financial markets. With widening imbalances caused by huge trade surpluses on the part of some nations while others drown in debt, the global economy is perilously close to chaos. Now the eurozone – specifically and immediately, Greece and Italy – is in danger of...

Greeks Seek to Escape Debt Crisis Abroad

Ingrid Melander November 3, 2011
Governments that dawdle in resolving economic crisis – or impose unfair taxes or cuts – could lose their smartest, most skilled citizens. As Greece’s debt crisis rocks the European Union, thousands of young and skilled workers are emigrating, reports Ingrid Melander for Reuters. Nonprofit aid organizations for the Greek diaspora are swamped with aid requests, she adds. Greeks are furious about...