In The News

Faulty Mission?

Nayan Chanda January 12, 2016
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched “Make in India” to create jobs and attract foreign investment, but the campaign “remains mired in political battles and cultural battles,” explains Nayan Chanda, founding editor of YaleGlobal Online who also consults for the publication. “India’s hope to take up the slack from China’s … increasingly expensive labour force may have come too late.” The...

Matteo Renzi, Scrapper in the Swamp

Joji Sakurai October 19, 2015
A challenge for Europe is that many talented, skilled young adults cannot find work. Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi would like to jumpstart the economy by “breaking it open to competition,” journalist Joji Sakurai explains for the New Statesman. Italy confronts “a struggle of allegiances versus globalisation; gerontocracy versus meritocracy; made-in-Italy quality versus stark economic...

Indian Job Ad Receives 2.3 Million Applicants

Victor Mallet September 21, 2015
India will soon outpace China as the world’s most populated nation and a young population is expected to energize the nation's economy. A job advertisement for tea boys and night guards has drawn 2.3 applicants, including college graduates. Policymakers, parents and young workers are alarmed. “The unprecedented deluge of applications is the latest confirmation of the grim employment...

It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s a Professional Foreigner!

Samuel Massie July 24, 2015
Graduating in the midst of a recession, US graduate Samuel Massie went to Guangzhou, China, to become a business analyst. In an essay for the New York Times, he describes the cultural adjustment and the attention received for being the lone foreigner. The company used him for translation and recruiting videos. Colleagues sought advice, not complaining about “censorship, pollution or human rights...

Will Africa’s Growth Help Africa’s People?

Kanayo F. Nwanze July 23, 2015
Africa has 11 of the world’s 20 fastest growing economies, yet thousands of African youth risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean to pursue opportunities in Europe, notes Kanayo F. Nwanze, president of the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development. He questions if growth and development are improving lives for a broad segment of Africans or just a few. Money won’t solve the challenge...

New Birth for Social Democracy

Kemal Derviş June 12, 2015
Structural changes in the global economy are driving inequality. Technology has not only replaced many workers in manufacturing and services, but is also transforming the traditional business model. Decentralized organizations hire low paid, temporary workers instead of long-term employees. Uber, which has threatened traditional taxi services, is an example of a decentralized business model. This...

The Robots Aren’t Threatening Your Job

Catherine Rampell April 10, 2015
Robotic technology with ever-improving artificial intelligence, sensors and other capabilities inspires awe, yet many workers fear a mass loss of jobs. Society should be optimistic though if policymakers plan ahead, argues Catherine Rampell for the Washington Post. “Across history, technological developments have caused certain skill sets and jobs to obsolesce, yes, but they have also created...