In The News

Many Small Firms Want to Join Exodus

Kim Sung-mi September 19, 2003
Fed up with their country's strict regulations and contentious labor market, many of South Korea's manufacturing firms are moving their operations overseas. China, with its cheap labor and rapidly expanding market, is the most popular destination for Korean firms on the move. Many manufacturers not looking to relocate say they are considering switching to the service sector, prompting...

Indian Techies Out, Teachers In

Siddhharth Srivastava September 18, 2003
American tech workers have been claiming that Indian immigrants are stealing their jobs ever since the tech bubble of the 1990s burst. Amidst this controversy, the fact that Indians are increasingly filling American teaching positions has widely gone unnoticed. With a shortage of instructors to the tune of over 700,000, however, this influx of professional labor is far more welcome. Indeed,...

China Joins the Global Economy - Part Two

Deborah Davis September 17, 2003
In part one of this 2-part series, David Zweig explained the processes by which China joined the global economy. In part two, China scholar Deborah Davis discusses the prospects for China's continued economic growth. While incomes have improved and everyone's boat has risen, Davis says, so has the country's once-low income inequality. Increased differences in wealth, as well as...

China Protectionism Equals Votes

Christian Bourge September 15, 2003
US Treasury Secretary John Snow's failure to convince China to float its currency has been met with dismay by the Bush administration. As American unemployment grows in the manufacturing-heavy swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan, Bush is looking to place blame elsewhere before he has to compete in the 2004 presidential election. China seemed like a good target – the US has a...

Only a Miracle Can Save China

Moisés Naím September 14, 2003
China may be growing too strong too fast for its own good. Rapid urbanization, an upwardly mobile middle class, and strained utilities and resources make an economic or political "accident" within the next decade inevitable, argues Moisés Naím. No state thus far has managed to expand so quickly in so many different directions without experiencing some sort of collapse—and China's...

Why China Should Not Revalue Its Currency

Linda Lim September 12, 2003
Many Americans are searching for someone to blame for their currently struggling economy. Higher unemployment, a drop in the value of the dollar, and low consumer confidence have made the booming 1990s a distant dream. Some US industries have reacted to the economic slowdown by accusing a top exporter, China, of purposefully undervaluing the yuan. Demands to decouple the yuan from the dollar...

Protests Greet Yet Another WTO Meeting

Pranab Bardhan September 8, 2003
As the World Trade Organization prepares to meet in Cancun, Mexico, backers and detractors of globalization are clashing again, with each side claiming to represent the interests of the world's poor. Those opposed to globalization in its current form point to an increase in inequality and poverty in countries that have opened up to international capital and corporations, while supporters...