In The News

Trade Deal Sparks Fight Over Socks

Ian Swanson November 1, 2007
The US Congress and Department of Commerce are considering raising tariffs on sock imports from Honduras. Passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement in 2005 decreased protections between the US and several Latin American states, and some analysts suggest that factories based in the US will close and move jobs to Honduras, with its low production costs. A Canadian company is taking...

When I'm 64

Hans Ulrich Maerki November 1, 2007
Europe's population is rapidly aging - the proportion of people over age 65 will increase by 50 percent over the next two decades - posing challenges to private and public pension systems as well as presenting a shortage of skilled workers. Hans Ulrich Maerki of IBM in Europe suggests that older people remain in the workforce longer, endorsing government social-welfare programs that target...

US Immigration Policy Fritters Away Higher-Education Benefits

Hassan Siddiq, Susan Froetschel October 31, 2007
A halfhearted embrace of globalization prevents the US from reaping full benefits of the students who attend its universities, allowing them to slip away to other countries. American universities attract some of the best students, enriching the talent pool and filling coffers, but a narrow-minded immigration policy squanders the benefits. Some analysts go as far as to suggest that science and...

Child Sweatshop Shame Threatens Gap's Ethical Image

Dan McDougall October 31, 2007
Western consumers enjoy inexpensive, yet intricate fashions – and don’t pay close attention who might be supplying the bargains. Reputable firms promise to monitor workplaces for any hint of abuse, yet children as young as 10 leave their homes and toil long hours in Indian sweatshops, sewing clothes for popular chains like the Gap. The children receive no pay other than the quick fee that goes to...

The Globalization Index 2007

October 26, 2007
In the seventh annual assessment of the progress of globalization, Foreign Policy magazine and consulting firm A.T. Kearney rank the 20 most globalized nations in the world and seek to explain some of the recent shifts. Using data from 2005, they compared states along four dimensions: economic integration, personal contact, political engagement and technological connectivity, with particular...

Bloodstained Rubies Fund Burmese Regime

Beat Balzli October 25, 2007
It is well known how the proceeds from sales of diamonds or oil can subsidize civil war and corrupt regimes, but less well known is how the international ruby trade sustains the Burmese junta. The United States and Europe each responded to Myanmar's violent repression of peaceful protesters with tightened trade limitations in their relations with the pariah in Southeast Asia, but were easily...

Chasing the Chinese Dream

Ariana Eunjung Cha October 25, 2007
Business entrepreneurs seeking security, opportunity and religious tolerance are turning away from traditional immigration destinations like the United States or Europe, and instead finding themselves on China's shores. The number of internationals in China with long-term visas has nearly doubled since 2003, about 450,000 people, including about 20,000 Muslims and 1,000 displaced Iraqis. The...