In The News

News of Globalization's Death Vastly Exaggerated

John Hancock, Robert Greenhill December 8, 2009
Despite the claims that the economic crisis would lead to increased protectionism and isolation, the opposite has occurred. There are three major reasons why globalization hasn’t suffered a major decline through this most recent crisis. First, international institutions have proved strong and effective: for example, the WTO's “trade courts” effectively settled disputes and the Bretton Woods...

How Do You Say "Pink Cadillac" in Mandarin?

Daniel Gross November 30, 2009
The American direct-sales firm Mary Kay is proving popular in China, as an aspirational and premium brand for China’s growing middle class. Mary Kay’s initial transition to China in the 1990s was difficult because the middle class was smaller then and direct-sales firms were viewed with suspicion. But as the Chinese economy developed, Mary Kay turned into a juggernaut with rapidly growing sales...

China Spreads Aid in Africa, With a Catch

Sharon Lafraniere, John Grobler September 23, 2009
In recent years, China has greatly increased its presence throughout the developing world by offering loans below market-rates, championing such efforts as win-win for both China and the receiving countries. Whereas Western nations have often attached political and economic reforms as conditions to their aid, China instead offered “no strings attached” assistance, disregarding human rights...

Iran's Web Spying Aided By Western Technology

Christopher Rhoads, Loretta Chao June 25, 2009
The Iranian government, with the help of equipment developed by Siemens and Nokia, is operating an advanced internet monitoring system capable of spreading disinformation, blocking communications, and mining internet data for personal information. The government’s internet monitoring capability, supported by a national telecommunications monopoly, is believed to rival China’s “Great Firewall” for...

Losing $63 Billion in Diverted U.S. Goods Is Sleuth Obsession

Carol Wolf April 9, 2009
Old-fashioned arbitrage on an international level has a new name: “product diversion.” It means the same thing though: buying low in one market and selling higher in another. The difference is that many multinational corporations (MNC) are now employing investigators and litigators to identify and crack down on the practice. Some MNCs have gone so far as to end business relationships with...

Pink Floyd's Money Travels Long Way to Mongolia

William Pesek October 6, 2008
Natural resources can be a boon to a nation's economy – just ask landlocked Botswana, which enjoyed tremendous growth, thanks to its diamond deposits. However, abundant minerals, gas, and oil can hinder a country's economic progress, if governments over-invest in such booming industries at the expense of building manufacturing or agricultural sectors. Without a diversified, bustling...

Superclass and the Inequity of Globalization

David Rothkopf May 14, 2008
The free-market principles that drive global trade of goods, services and ideas often run counter to notions of institutional regulation. According to David Rothkopf, author and visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, this void in global governance has facilitated the rise of a “superclass” of elites, numbering about 6,000, whose actions impact millions of lives. The...