In The News

More Farmers Seek Subsidies as US Eats Imported Produce

Alexei Barrionuevo December 6, 2006
The US government has traditionally paid subsidies to protect farmers who grow cotton, corn, rice, wheat and soybeans, protecting those products against overseas competition. But with many more vegetables and fruits from China flooding global markets, US farmers who grow specialty products are uniting to demand funds for marketing and research. The subsidized commodity crops require more than 200...

Outsourcing Hits a New Class of Workers: Journalists

Doreen Carvajal December 5, 2006
Declining circulations and advertising revenue have forced newspapers in the US and UK to reduce costs – and some editors now look for low-wage, talented help in India, Singapore and other countries. Such moves may reduce costs, but could also lead to community backlashes and further erosion in circulation. Any employee whose work can be transferred online is vulnerable to such outsourcing,...

Kentucky Fried Globalization

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom December 5, 2006
US media have been fascinated by both China’s and Vietnam’s success in embracing global markets while retaining communist governments. But that fascination resulted in a limited, oft-repeated presentation that does not delve into the cultural complexities, according to history professor Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom. Journalists tend to make two mistakes, according to Wasserstrom: first, equating...

Latin Americans Wonder if Democrats Are Traders

Sibylla Brodzinsky November 30, 2006
In an effort to keep good jobs in the US, Democrats in US Congress may push to change trade policy with the Americas. But that could result in job loss in countries like Colombia and Peru. Labor activists of both continents claim that many of these jobs are exploitative, but even so, the loss of steady work could result in economic instability, a spike in the illegal drug trade, as well as a...

Globalization and God – Part II

Bruce Mazlish November 28, 2006
A spike in religious violence around the globe leads many observers to assume that secularism has a diminished influence in international politics. But surges of religious fervor in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the US are a backlash against modernity, whose ideas and freedoms cannot be swept under some global rug and forgotten. In the second part of this two-part series, historian Bruce...

Secrets, Lies and Sweatshops

November 27, 2006
US multinational companies that rely on factories overseas often tout how their strict labor rules protect human rights. For example, Wal-Mart stops doing business with factories in China after four warnings on wage or scheduling violations. But factories under contract with multinationals have learned how to circumvent the regulations by hiring coaching firms that fake employee payroll records...

Is India Emerging as France of Asia?

Alyssa Ayres November 21, 2006
The current India visit by China’s President Hu Jintao to celebrate 50 years of relationship between the two countries will be watched closely by India’s newest friend, the United States. The two Asian giants have shaken off their frosty relations since their 1962 border war, and during the past five years their economic ties have blossomed. But the relationship between the US and India, shorn of...