In The News

Why the Discomfort Over Free Trade

Kevin Casas-Zamora September 12, 2008
Many benefits flow from free trade, and attempts to “protect” economies from competition are doomed. Yet free trade has fallen into disrepute, as more workers, voters and politicians express skepticism, questioning why most rewards flow to a few. Costa Rica’s former vice-president, Kevin Casas-Zamora, insists that advocates for free trade, and he counts himself as one, must examine the problems...

Nobel Laureates Say Globalization's Winners Should Aid Poor

Joellen Perry August 27, 2008
Some citizens accrue more benefits from open and free markets than other citizens, and growing income inequality has become a major issue in elections around the globe. Wealth among nations is evening out. Yet within some nations and communities, those that don’t use taxes or government programs to guarantee widespread distribution of benefits and opportunity, the lopsided effects of trade and...

The WTO – Faltering on Its Way to Success?

Edward Gresser August 12, 2008
The recent breakdown in the Doha Round of World Trade Organization negotiations was largely described as “failure” by commentators around the globe. But the goal of eliminating poverty by opening global agriculture markets is ambitious, as negotiators tackled some very sensitive issues. The WTO requires that all 153 member nations reach consensus on any rules, yet despite that challenge, the...

Globalization Requires Safety Net, UN Says

Michael A. Fletcher July 10, 2008
As globalization continues to connect distant places of the globe together, many citizens, even those in wealthy nations, face the consequences of “severe economic swings.” Disturbances in the economy resulting from intense competition come in many forms, including food shortages, rising income inequality or steadily increasing fuel prices. According to separate reports from the United Nations...

Labor Row

June 30, 2008
The economies of oil-rich nations depend on immigrant labor from Bangladesh to clean and build, fix and cook. Workers are separated for months from families and work in harsh conditions for low wages in countries with lavish lifestyles. The alleged murder of a Bahraini supervisor by a Bangladeshi mechanic has exposed the inequality and tensions that go hand in hand with relying on immigrant...

Population Woes

Salama A. Salama June 27, 2008
Tragedy unfolds in countries that fail to emphasize family planning or discourage people from having children they cannot afford – and economic hardship compounds the tragedy. Preaching and advertising fail to engage the poor in developing nations, particularly when large numbers are illiterate, argues Salama A. Salama for Al-Ahram Weekly. For some cultures, a large family represents economic...

Interconnected We Prosper

William J. Amelio June 27, 2008
The ranks of the middle class have swelled during the past 15 years, as trade and new connections have lifted millions out of poverty, writes William J. Amelio, chief executive of Lenovo, in an essay for the International Herald Tribune. “Not just goods but information and ideas flow across borders constantly and (for the most part) freely as near universal access to Internet-enabled...