In The News

Workers Without Borders

Jennifer Gordon March 12, 2009
Laws on immigration are weak obstacles against the companies tempted by cheap labor or workers desperate for a better life. Attempting strict limits, imposing a fear of deportation and an unwillingness to report unfair conditions, the US system depresses wages and work conditions for all workers – citizens and legal and illegal immigrants alike – argues law professor Jennifer Gordon in an opinion...

Despite Rhetoric, Offshoring Won’t Stop

Dinesh C. Sharma March 9, 2009
As economic crisis sweeps the globe, citizens expect their political leaders to create jobs, but it leads to other problems in the process. For example, in the US, President Barack Obama has vowed to end “tax breaks” for companies that ship jobs overseas, causing consternation among some in the Indian IT industry. Indian IT provides services to financial, banking and insurance firms around the...

Fixing Global Finance: An Interview with Martin Wolf

March 5, 2009
Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator and Associate Editor for the Financial Times, talks about his new book “Fixing Global Finance,” and the current financial crisis. In this interview with Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal, Wolf explains why global imbalances caused the financial crises, outlines the steps for ending this destructive cycle, and offers suggestions on how to help ensure...

Why Skilled Immigrants Are Leaving the U.S.

Vivek Wadhwa March 3, 2009
One of the reasons for success of the US economy as the world’s engine of innovation and growth has been its ability to attract talents from abroad. But thanks to contentious changes in the US immigration policy, especially a temporary worker visa program known as H-1B, it is no longer the land of opportunity. There are indications that immigrants, unsuccessful at obtaining the right to stay and...

Mounting US Debt Burden Threatens Poorer Nations

David Dapice March 2, 2009
US prices ballooned, and then burst. Now the government must borrow heavily once again to stave off an abrupt collapse in values and demand. Such heavy borrowing, 12 percent of the country's GDP this year, depends on the willingness of other countries to buy US debt. But solvent countries and sovereign wealth funds are nervous about their own stockpiles and the health of the global economy:...

Guadeloupe Riots Turn Paradise Into War Zone

Lizzy Davies February 20, 2009
Some economic patterns are troublesome: A stunning locale captivates visitors, a tourism industry emerges, land prices skyrocket as foreign investors compete, until local residents can no longer afford to live in their own community. On the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, more than 70 percent of people live in government housing, a global economic downturn has diminished tourism, and a...

Job Losses Pose a Threat to Stability Worldwide

Nelson D. Schwartz February 19, 2009
Jobs vanish around the globe as people worry more and countries struggle to enact policies to stabilize local economies. A UN agency estimates that job losses could total 50 million by the end of 2009, reports Nelson Schwartz for the New York Times. Many jobseekers could be bitter and prepared to protest and seek new political leaders. Economic instability has replaced terrorism as the biggest...