In The News

No Big Mac In Lao Idyll

Nayan Chanda June 6, 2011
With careful planning, cities connect with the world and maintain cultural diversity. In his column for Businessworld, Nayan Chanda explores Luang Prabang, the former royal capital of Laos: “The town also shows how pre-industrial economies can be integrated into a world of jet planes and high-speed Internet, while maintaining its old world charm.” Designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 1995,...

Nation of the Forest

Cathy Shufro May 30, 2011
Urbanization’s many pressures make it easier for people to alter long-held customs. For example, in Bhutan, city dwellers didn’t protest a rule aimed at protecting forests by reducing the number of prayer flags to mourn a loved one’s death, explains Cathy Shufro in an article for Yale Alumni Magazine. “Bhutanese have formulated guidelines, infused with Buddhist values, for how to reconcile old...

Brazilians Making an Economic Mark

Mimi Whitefield February 15, 2011
“Bem-vindo” – or welcome in Portuguese – is the new greeting for South Florida. The struggling state was hit hard by the property bubble collapse and the sub-prime crisis, so now its real estate, tourism and shopping centers are a bargain for neighbors to the south - Brazilians. Brazil, poised to become the world’s fifth largest economy, has a low unemployment rate, reports Mimi Whitefield for...

Taiwan's Medical Tourism Boom

Jens Kastner October 20, 2010
China does not provide socialized public health care for its 1.3 billion citizens, with health insurance covering about 40 percent of the population. The World Health Organization reports problems abound with China’s health system: Less than 15 percent of the nation’s medical professionals have a bachelor’s degree or higher; doctors outnumber nurses; and profit-taking leads to over-prescribing....

Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Moving From South Asia to US

Donald G. McNeil Jr. August 26, 2010
People travel around the world with unprecedented speed and frequency, carrying germs as they go. Recently, H1N1 – otherwise known as swine flu – swept through many countries, devastating a normally healthy group: 18-40 year olds. Now, a new mutation in some bacteria, a gene labeled by scientists as NDM-1, is resistant to almost all antibiotics. First detected in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh...

China Discovers World Expo Is No Olympics

Maura Elizabeth Cunningham, Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom August 17, 2010
After the dazzling 2008 Olympics, China had hoped to draw attention once again with the World Expo, exceeding previous World’s Fair records with visiting nations, exhibitions and attendance. But even before the Expo, Shanghai and many other cities around the globe already carry significant international cachet, displaying futuristic trends, or what Maura Elizabeth Cunningham and Jeffrey N....

India's Medical Tourism Industry

Neeta Lal June 2, 2010
Producers of necessary goods anticipate sustained profits, but that does not preclude competition in the areas of quality or affordability. As costs for health care climb in developed nations, India’s hospitals and physicians step up efforts to become a destination for tourists seeking a range of treatments. Travel companies organize trips, sometimes combining treatment with sightseeing tours;...