In The News

Staring Into the Mouth of the Trade Deficit

Elizabeth Becker February 21, 2004
Five years ago, the Northwestern city of Seattle made news when anti-globalization protests shut down a meeting of the World Trade Organization. Now, the city is back in the center of a national storm over trade imbalances and job loss. Seattle, the most trade-dependent city in the United States, earns more per capita from trade than any other area in the country. Yet with the US trade deficit at...

Europe Can No Longer Rely on Immigrant Workers

Jonathan Power February 19, 2004
Europe needs to realize that immigrant workers alone will not solve the problem of an aging population, says the author of this article. One country, Sweden, has already made this realization and has increased the retirement age to 67. But given Sweden's long-term demographic changes, analysts have estimated that the retirement age could go as high as 79. An aging population, however, is...

We Need a Common Strategy

Romano Prodi February 18, 2004
In recent years, the European Union has grappled with waves of violent anti-Semitic attacks. This, combined with the anger some Europeans feel over Israel's policies, has turned relations with Jewish citizens into a tense conflict. In this Financial Times editorial, Romano Prodi – president of the European Commission – calls for concrete action against intolerance. This week leading public...

A Development Nightmare

Kenneth Rogoff February 16, 2004
As much as wealthier nations purport to want to make the world's economy more equitable, Kenneth Rogoff, the director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, argues that this is an unsustainable dream. The standard of living enjoyed by most Americans would destroy the environment, raise gas prices to outrageous levels, and generally wreck havoc on limited...

Poppy Barons on the 'Speed' Boat

Larry Jagan February 16, 2004
The notorious Golden Triangle in Southeast Asia has long produced a large portion of the world's illicit drugs. Although authorities in Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Laos have had substantial success in ending opium poppy growing, newer technologies are allowing for the production and trafficking of synthetic drugs. Poppy barons have discovered that trafficking in methamphetamines can be...

Voices of Mumbai

Ian Douglas February 6, 2004
Since the World Social Forum (WSF) began four years ago it has sought to address the myriad issues which the World Economic Forum fails to take into account. Concerns encompass the negative effects of globalization, human rights, environmental degradation, international peace, disenfranchisement, and international law. With such a range of issues, a consensus as to what is most pressing is...

Interviews Deter Thousands of Chinese Brides

Cody Yiu February 5, 2004
In September, the Taiwanese government began interviewing Chinese citizens attempting to enter Taiwan on marriage visas. The program has successfully identified hundreds of fake marriages, and may have made the job of Chinese "snakeheads", or people smugglers, more difficult. Many snakeheads traffic in young girls, who have a harder time passing the entrance interviews. Some snakeheads...