In The News

Africa and the Emerging South

Chris Alden April 15, 2011
The relationship between Africa and the so-called BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and now South Africa – is rapidly changing the face of the continent. Chris Alden of the London School of Economics analyzes how growing trade ties shape Africa’s future. The original BRIC countries seek raw materials from Africa and undercut some local industries. Yet competition among BRICS, their investment...

Spanish Scientists Search for Fuel of the Future

Virginie Grognou April 6, 2011
Countries that don’t have massive oil or natural-gas reserves may soon be able to construct their own biofuel reserves. Spanish and French scientists, working for the small firm Bio Fuel Systems, or BSF, are researching a new alternative fuel – based on algae mixed with carbon dioxide. Like solar energy, the process of growing algae requires wide open space. “[T]he idea is to reproduce and speed...

In a Borderless World, Innovation Reigns Supreme

Ashok Bardhan April 4, 2011
Economists and policymakers recognize that investment in research and development – by government or industry – contributes to innovation, employment and higher living standards. In pursuit of bigger markets and lower costs US firms started the trend of relocating manufacturing and services overseas, and now R&D activities follow, explains economist Ashok Bardhan. The transfers raise...

A Bolt From the Blue Sea

Nayan Chanda March 31, 2011
Japan is the source of advanced technology for multiple industries. Triple tragedies of an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident – with thousands killed, hundreds of thousands displaced and rolling blackouts – immediately revealed many economic interconnections and the vulnerability of the global supply chain, explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his regular column for Businessworld....

Li & Fung Warns of End of Cheap China Goods

Rahul Jacob March 28, 2011
The era of low prices – thanks to low-cost labor in China – is over, warns Li & Fung, a Hong Kong product sourcing firm, as reported by the Financial Times. China laborers overall enjoyed a raise of about 20 percent this year, reports Rahul Jacob. Retailers must now decide how much of the extra costs they can pass on to consumers and how much can be taken away from profits. Even as...

A Wing and a Prayer: Outsourcing at Boeing

Kyle Peterson March 11, 2011
In making its new 787 Dreamliner, Boeing outsourced work to a global network of more than 50 partners, a marked contrast to the traditional practice of manufacturing planes at its base near Seattle, Washington. The plane is nearly three years behind schedule, beset by technical and supply problems and billions of dollars in cost over-runs. Boeing workers complain that the failures derive in part...

Degrees and Dollars

Paul Krugman March 8, 2011
The message is bleak: Education does not automatically lead to jobs, suggests Paul Krugman, New York Times columnist. To maximize profits, corporate executives steadily relocate factories to nations with low-cost workers or try fast-improving technology for tasks performed by well-paid, educated workers. Advanced technology and fast-growing productivity continue to reduce jobs, the economist...