In The News

Companies Brace for End of Cheap Made-in-China Era

Elaine Kurtenbach July 9, 2010
An array of low-cost goods in stores of the West is possible because of ample Chinese workers willing to work for a few dollars a day. But the days of low-cost bounty could be ending, as more Chinese are willing to unionize and go on strike for better wages and benefits. Higher shipping costs and pressure from the West for China to increase the value of its currency add to an uncertain business...

Forget India, Outsource to Arkansas

Jennifer Alsever July 8, 2010
With a national unemployment rate approaching 10 percent, relatively high for the US, biotech and IT technology firms eye low-cost labor rural communities in states like Arkansas, Missouri and Minnesota. Dubbed “rural outsourcing” by this CNN Money article, the work entails providing IT support or customizing software code. “For some companies, the thought of outsourcing work to countries with...

Reverse Outsourcing

Nayan Chanda July 6, 2010
An old saying – what goes around comes around – applies to anything global, and that includes outsourcing. France and other developed nations with high labor costs have long and bitterly complained about jobs shifting to low-wage nations like China. But Europe’s rising unemployment, combined with rising wages in China, contribute to an agreement that brings up to 50 Chinese electronics and light-...

Global Migration: A World Ever More on the Move

Jason DeParle June 29, 2010
People’s movement around the globe – for work, wanderlust or safety – has long reordered the world in ways comprehended only decades, even centuries later, notes Jason DeParle for the New York Times. New arrivals influence trade, work habits, schools, culture and politics at all levels. Mobility is at historically high levels, and the United Nations estimates the globe has more than 200 million...

African Migrant Workers Find Slim Pickings in Strawberry Fields of Southern Spain

Jean-Jacques Bozonnet June 28, 2010
In Spain, migrant men called “ghosts,” live in hidden plywood shacks adjoining berry fields, and wait for the next season’s harvest. But weather and laws have disrupted the plans of many who travel from Africa and Eastern Europe seeking work on berry farms. In 2008, Spain aimed to reduce immigration by reducing the number of temporary work permits for harvests. The country’s unemployment rate...

The World at Play: Soccer Takes on Globalization

Branko Milanovic June 15, 2010
Soccer is the most globalized sport. Owners of any sporting team demand and pay for top talent from anywhere in the world. Before 1995, soccer rules in Europe limited the number of foreign players to a handful per club. A Belgian player successfully protested that the rules violated European laws on labor mobility and discrimination. Since then, the doors have opened wide and skills in the game...

Tuareg Activist Takes on French Nuclear Company

Cordula Meyer April 28, 2010
Areva, a largely state-owned French power giant, has extensive uranium mining operations in northern Niger. That uranium generates the majority of France's electricity, along with thousands of jobs in France and across Europe. Yet, left in northern Niger are millions of tons of radioactive waste that have contaminated groundwater and killed crops, destroying the nomadic lifestyle of the...