In The News

Calling Elvis, Anybody Home?

Seema Sirohi March 7, 2003
Should American politicians emphasize economic efficiency to cut costs in government or should they first and foremost seek to protect US workers' jobs? As the economy continues to decline in the US, some people are saying that it's time to move American jobs back to America. Over the past several years Fortune 500 companies like GE and American Express have shifted a great deal of...

Fawlty Globalisation

M.J. Akbar March 6, 2003
Providing space for economic refugees is the key to maintaining a balanced globalization. The countries that have best accommodated economic refugees, like the US and India, are the ones that also tend to benefit the most from the skills these individuals bring. But the worry is that countries want cheap labor while constraining the diversity that migration entails. Multi-ethnic India serves as a...

No More E-6 Visas for Foreign Dancers

Kim Kyung-ho February 27, 2003
Each year, hundreds of foreign women arrive in South Korea seeking employment as dancers or performers. Now, reports have surfaced of women promised decent jobs and then forced to become bar hostesses or perform sexual acts. As a result, the South Korean government has decided to cancel visas for women who plan to dance at nightspots, but not in stage arts performances. Still, the government may...

Foreign Talent Policy Here to Stay: Lee Kuan Yew

Vince Chong February 19, 2003
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore says that the current immigration policy, which is meant to attract foreign talent, will not change. In order to stay competitive not only in Asia, but also the world, Singapore must continue to attract talent, especially when it suffers a falling birth rate. Mr. Lee also commented that Singapore should pursue more value-added services to counteract the...

Behind Roses' Beauty, Poor and Ill Workers

Ginger Thompson February 13, 2003
In only five years Ecuadorean roses have become one of the most popular Valentine’s Day flowers on the international market. Born out of the anti-drug war in the US, which encouraged Central American farmers to convert to flowers rather than cocoa, Ecuador's flower industry now boasts 50,000 thousand jobs and salaries above minimum wage; the success has transformed a once impoverished...

Govt. to send team to evacuate Indonesians in Middle East amid possible war on Iraq

February 12, 2003
With tens of thousands of its citizens working in the Middle East, the Indonesian government is following the example of its Southeast Asian neighbors and preparing for the worst. In the face of a growing threat of war in Iraq, Jakarta is sending a team of government personnel to the region to plan an evacuation of Indonesian nationals. – YaleGlobal

Industrialised World Must Adapt to Rising China and India

Eisuke Sakakibara February 6, 2003
A former Japanese Finance Ministry official writes that like the industrialization of the late 19th century, the globalization of the last two decades has rapidly altered the world economy. China and India are poised to become important actors in the new economy, but for them to succeed, many things must fall into place. Industrialized nations, specifically Japan, must respond to the emergence...