In The News

Obama Must Face the Rise of the Robots

Edward Luce February 7, 2014
Robots pose “the central economic dilemma for the Obama era,” suggests Edward Luce in the Financial Times, and that extends to future US administrations as well as leaders and workers in other nations. “With each month, the US economy becomes steadily more automated. In January the US economy added just 4,000 manufacturing jobs, and the net increase since July is zero,” Luce writes. “Yet last...

Beware, The Robots Are Coming

Kevin Rafferty January 30, 2014
Researchers and corporations are captivated by robots – and their ability to work with precision around the clock without rest or complaint. Development of these work machines is in full throttle, and robots could soon replace accountants, real estate agents, retail clerks, technical writers, telemarketers, drivers, domestic workers, elder caregivers and more, reports Kevin Rafferty, professor...

The Plight of the Globe’s Domestic Workers

Susan Froetschel January 15, 2014
Domestic workers and diplomats may be but pawns for nations struggling with their own internal quarrels and place in the world. The arrest of an Indian consulate officer in New York City for filing false information on a nanny’s wages triggered outrage in India. The immediate official reaction was that Devyani Khobragade has immunity from arrest including a standard body search and that the crime...

Compete in the World? Yes, Indians Can

Kishore Mahbubani January 14, 2014
Indians rank first for economic performance in terms of the income earned by ethnic groups in the United States. “America welcomes immigrants from all over the globe, offering a level playing field, and encourages them to test themselves against world-class competition,” writes Kishore Mahbubani, author and dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS. If India could achieve half of the...

Easing One-Child Policy May Be Too Late

Joseph Chamie January 7, 2014
A Chinese policy that generally limited families to one child has been revised: Couples can have two children if either spouse is an only child. But China may discover that increasing family size is tougher than reduction, warns demographer Joseph Chamie. “This mid-course correction in population policy will have marginal effect as China is aging at a much faster pace than occurred in other...

Bulgarians and Romanians Free to Work in UK as Controls End

Mark Lowen January 2, 2014
The single market of the European Union is designed to allow most goods, services, money and people to cross borders of member nations. Mechanisms allow gradual introductions, even delays, for transition. Some in the United Kingdom express concern about Bulgarian and Romanian citizens relocating to the United Kingdom after controls in place since 2007 expired, reports Mark Lowen for BBC News. “...

The Bad Bargain

Daniel Altman December 27, 2013
Wages are largely stagnant. Data suggest that growing profits earned by corporate investors is coming from shrinking incomes of workers. “Labor's share of national income has been falling slowly since the 1970s in rich countries around the world,” writes Daniel Altman for Foreign Policy. Increasing technology along with global integration and competition has pressured unions and eroded labor...