In The News

Globalization: When Cure Is Worse Than Malady

Richard Hornik June 27, 2006
The global economic transition to a post-industrial economy has increased pace since the end of the Cold War, but the dislocations caused by rapid globalization rage on. As a consequence, electorates have become deeply divided between those who benefit and those who do not. Politicians find themselves pandering to narrow constituencies with petty, irrelevant legislation to build coalitions, often...

US Wages Face Glut of Pressures

David Wessel June 26, 2006
Conventional economics suggests that the retirement of the baby boomers in the US will reverse the decline of wages and job benefits throughout the US. But the emergence of China, India and the former Soviet bloc as modern capitalist economies could prolong the agony, suggests journalist David Wessel, particularly if the US is unprepared. Overseas competition will continue to lower wages of US...

Managing Globalization: Economies Have a Stake in Where Companies Find Employees

Daniel Altman June 26, 2006
A growing interconnectedness of the global economy means companies will find skilled workers one way or another. The motives for companies to turn to outsourcing or the recruitment of immigrant labor are often similar: a domestic skills shortage, jobs that local workers will not take or the comparatively cheap cost of foreign labor. The forces driving companies’ choices to outsource or recruit...

Plan B for Plurilateralists

Bernard K. Gordon June 22, 2006
The current round of the World Trade Organization’s Doha conference has become hopelessly stalled, bringing into relief a split between what some call the “can do” and the “won't do” nations. Political scientist Bernard K. Gordon posits that the current US administration will not settle for a limited multilateral agreement that could likely result from the WTO talks. Instead, he sees the...

China’s Portuguese Connection

Loro Horta June 22, 2006
Patience is power, suggests a Chinese proverb, and that describes how China pursues diplomacy. The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) consists of eight states around the world, encompassing 230 million people – but is rarely regarded as a priority in global politics. Bucking conventional thinking, China diligently pursues diplomacy with the CPLP, foreseeing benefits such as new...

Southeast Asia’s New Best Friend

Tyler Marshall June 22, 2006
While the US focuses on its expansive “war on terror,” Chinese trade in Southeast Asia grows rapidly, jumping by 20 percent in 2005, more than twice the US rate. Rather than disdain other Asian cultures, China reaches out to overseas ethnic Chinese to celebrate a mutual heritage. The nation’s influence is revealed by Thailand’s increasing exports to China, Manila museums celebrating Chinese-...

Economic Patriotism

Patricia Wruuck June 21, 2006
Protectionism in government-enforced industrial policy is rooted in domestic allegiances, yet can ultimately hurt local economies, writes Patricia Wruuk of Deutsche Bank Research. Economists agree that the free market is the best way to allocate goods and profits to a population, though some favor a more regulated industrial policy than others to ensure domestic sustainability and avoid the...