In The News

Fed Chief Gives Seminar on History of Globalization

Edmund L. Andrews August 29, 2006
Governments must prepare their citizens for the increasing disruptions of new competition caused by the force of globalization. The world will face fewer disruptions if the “benefits of global economic integration are sufficiently shared,” urged Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve at an annual retreat. Increasing numbers of the world population – particularly emerging economic...

Why Globalization Is in Trouble – Part I

Branko Milanovic August 29, 2006
The dominant world powers historically pushed for globalization as a means of increasing wealth and influence. Yet those nations fret as the emerging powers of India and China embrace the same strategy. This two-part series by World Bank economist Branco Milanovic explores why both the world’s wealthiest and poorest nations fear globalization. In the first article, Milanovic argues that citizens...

Van Gogh From the Sweatshop

Martin Paetsch August 29, 2006
A cottage industry of artists making cheap knockoffs of famous paintings transformed a Chinese village into an art factory. Estimates suggest that the suburb of Shenzhen’s community of 10,000 workers produce about 5 million works of art each year. The finished works head off to retailers around the world, from Wal-Mart to galleries. The studios even accept custom orders: Art buyers can request...

More Than Wal-Mart

Robert Kuttner August 23, 2006
Wal-Mart is a symbol of the struggling worker who faces little hope of advancement, both in the US and abroad. The world’s largest retailer offers low prices by paying millions of workers minimum wage and passing many health-care costs onto government programs for the poor. The US government supports the work ethic. Since 1970, the US government decreased employer regulation, eliminated pension...

At France Télécom, Battle to Cut Jobs Breeds Odd Tactics

Leila Abboud August 23, 2006
A winery and scuba-diving shop, a magician and an opera singer – such are the small businesses and careers subsidized by France Télécom, the national telecommunications company. While preparing to list the company on the Paris stock exchange in the mid-1990s, executives recognized that its workforce was bloated. After nearly a decade of attempting to induce early retirement by offering generous...

Apple Finds No Forced Labor at iPod Factory in South China

John Markoff August 19, 2006
A team of investigators sent by Apple Computer to review practices at a factory in the Chinese city of Longhua found no evidence of child or forced labor. The group conducted 100 interviews with randomly selected workers, combed through thousands of documents and investigated the factory site run by Foxconn, a Taiwan-based company. The Apple report did, however, identify several violations of...

Singapore Acts as Haven for Stem Cell Research

Wayne Arnold August 18, 2006
Singapore has a conservative government, with strict rules in many areas – but it bestows ample freedoms and financial incentives for its scientists. As a result, the country has become a magnet for biomedical researchers from around the world. The US, world leader in medical research, presents an uncertain legal environment for stem-cell researchers, by legalizing abortions and fertility...