In The News

Remittances Are Effective Weapon Against Poverty

Norman Lamont November 18, 2005
In a report this week, the World Bank drew attention to the money flow from immigrants back to their countries of origin. The amount of money transferred annually is between two and three times the level of development aid from rich to poor countries. According to the bank, the economic benefits of remittances could outstrip even the benefits of trade liberalization. Yet many governments now...

France is Not Alone in Living Above a Volcano

Michel Rocard November 18, 2005
In the past weeks, the violent and contagious Paris riots drew the attention of the world to the presence of a large mass of unemployed minority teens in France’s urban center. Many commentators have focused their responses on the lack of social integration of the country’s predominantly North African minorities. Offering a different interpretation, former French Prime Minister Michel Rocard...

Dutch Virtue of Tolerance Under Strain

Roger Cohen November 17, 2005
While immigration, especially of Muslims, has long been an issue for Europeans, it has recently taken on a greater urgency. The Netherlands is a prime example of a European society in which the failed integration of Muslims and their children has produced an untenable situation. No longer is the debate on Muslim immigration centered on the capacities of welfare systems. Now it is a matter of...

You Shouldn't Have to Burn Cars to Get a Better Life—Ask My Bolivian Cleaning Lady

Niall Ferguson November 7, 2005
Both Britain and France have endured violence at the hands of their Muslim minorities in recent months: Britain in the July 7 London Underground attacks; France in the wave of nationwide rioting that has now gone on for more than a week. They need not endure such violence in the future. Their problem is not so much an excess of immigration as it is a lack of assimilation: the Muslim youths...

International Migration: Brain Drain or Brain Gain?

Caglar Ozden October 31, 2005
The surge in globalization since the end of World War II has been fueled chiefly by an international exchange of goods and capital rather than people. There are signs, however, that international migrants are playing an increasingly important role in globalization as the world enters the twenty-first century. What are the costs and benefits of this new wave of migration? The principal cost of...

Migrant Birds "Should Not Be Bird Flu Scapegoats"

Mike Shanahan October 26, 2005
Since the avian flu broke international headlines again this year, most reports have focused on the poultry business and how governments can best tighten health standards within the industry. Many scientists are now concerned about the spread of the potential pandemic in the wild, beyond the control of health officials and government regulators. Worse still is the possibility that migratory birds...

Turkey and the European Tent – Part I

Shada Islam October 11, 2005
Despite a tentative start, the EU entry negotiations for Turkey are a momentous event for the continent. In a two-part series, YaleGlobal examines the ramifications of the Turkey-EU negotiations. In the first installment, journalist Shada Islam explores the positive potential of the talks for both parties. For Turkey, the process will encourage further economic development, as well as greater...