In The News

Guestworkers: Hard To Turn Off Flow

Jagdish Bhagwati February 25, 2013
Hispanics, about 17 percent of the US population, represented just 10 percent of voters in the nation’s 2012 presidential election, but soundly rejected harsh proposals on immigration, including rigid enforcement and no amnesty for those already in the country illegally. Since the election, both Republicans and Democrats recognize the need for prompt immigration reform, reducing illegal entry and...

Immigration Reform and the American Worker

James Surowiecki February 25, 2013
Misunderstandings and myths do not produce good policy. Many Americans oppose immigration reform because they’re convinced that more immigrants eliminate jobs and hurt the US economy, especially during the recession. Instead, “a host of studies have found that immigration has actually boosted wages for native-born American workers as a whole, and that while immigration has had a negative impact...

Foxconn Union Heralds End of Cheap Era

David Pilling February 12, 2013
The ability to vote is generally suspect in China. But Foxconn, the world’s biggest contract manufacturer of electronics, will allow its million-plus workers to vote for 18,000 representatives, reports Financial Times columnist David Pilling. The Fair Labor Association, based in the US, will monitor the process. “[The] intention may not be to give his workers the wage-bargaining power that often...

Ambassador: Germany Needs Skilled Workers From India

February 4, 2013
Germany’s ambassador to India has announced that his country welcomes skilled workers from India and noted that immigration procedures and education regulations have been eased, reports the Times of India. One catch: Ambassador Michael Steiner urged Indians interested in studying or working in Germany to learn German. Language study unites country and people, and the ambassador was quoted as...

Growth Without Equity Roils South Africa

Haroon Bhorat, Morné Oosthuizen, Anne Kamau February 1, 2013
Labor unrest does not attract foreign investment. South Africa must subdue strikes in its mining industry before unrest spreads to other sectors while addressing the challenges of a high unemployment rate and dire poverty, argue researchers Haroon Bhorat, Morné Oosthuizen and Anne Kamau. South Africa is the world’s biggest producer of gold and platinum. The strikes are both reducing gold and...

Southern Weekly Reporters Confront China Censors

January 8, 2013
Journalists are often the biggest opponents of censorship and biggest proponents of government reforms. Many observers in China had anticipated new reforms with the transition in leadership. Yet propaganda officials continue to censor reports about corruption, dissent and government’s inability to tackle pressing problems. Former staff members and interns of a newspaper in China have urged the...

How Chinese Economic Policy Could Save Club Med Countries

Mohnish Pabrai January 7, 2013
Deep in debt, desperate to borrow for reduced daily operations, Mediterranean countries contemplate unloading valuable properties. Instead of selling desirable properties, investor Mohnish Pabrai urges Greece, Spain and Italy to create special economic zones that bypass stringent national labor regulations and lease these properties to skilled managers who could then hire millions of unemployed,...