In The News

Lessons on Globalization from India

Pratap Bhanu Mehta June 17, 2004
Is there an inherent contradiction between democracy and globalization? Some anti-globalization protesters might say yes. And their pro-free trade opponents might also agree. But upon careful consideration, writes philosopher and political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta, it is clear that the debate between democrats and globalizers is often too stylized. "The constraints on democracy, in...

Lula: Support globalization

Alan Clendenning June 16, 2004
While hundreds of demonstrators chanted against globalization, inside a conference hall in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s leftwing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had a different message. Addressing a gathering of 180-nation United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, he said the developing world should learn how to use globalization instead of denouncing it. Lula’s speech offered yet another...

'Radical' A-Mei Cancels Show in China

Chiu Yu-tzu June 14, 2004
Do pop artists' politics matter? Some students in China apparently think so. As Taiwanese pop singer A-Mei prepared to take the stage in the Chinese city of Hangzhou last weekend, local university students – her natural fan base – unfurled banners protesting her presumed support of Taiwanese independence. A-Mei is not alone, however. Other Taiwanese pop singers, who generally enjoy...

The End of Textile Quotas Will Redistribute Pain and Gain

Edward Gresser June 10, 2004
The abolition of textile quotas by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2005 does not bode well for all developing countries, says Edward Gresser, Director of the PPI Project on Trade and Global Markets. Although the lifting of textile quotas will be a much-awaited victory for developing countries against rich economies like the US and Europe, its benefits will be highly uneven. Come...

Asia ‘Needs Own Energy Resources’

Pennapa Hongthong June 9, 2004
A lack of domestic energy security has prompted discussion amongst Asian nations about a regional strategy on energy resources. At the Asia Development Research Forum, which concluded yesterday, researchers encouraged the region’s policy makers to develop domestic energy sources. Rather than depend on foreign imports, the focus should be on developing new and renewable energy resources. China’s...

Indonesia's Shameful Export

Devi Asmarani June 8, 2004
Last month, Indonesia was forced to face the reality of a widespread child prostitution network when a woman was arrested for employing young schoolgirls as prostitutes from a food stall in a densely populated neighborhood in South Jakarta. This article in the Straits Times reports that the 1997 economic crisis has caused millions of children to take to the worst of forms of child labor,...

China is Just Catching Up

Yasheng Huang June 8, 2004
China’s so-called 'rise' in the last two decades must be put into perspective, says Yasheng Huang, associate professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and author of "Selling China". In recent times, Huang notes, blaming China’s buoyant economy for financial uncertainties in other parts of the world has come into vogue. But the hysteria and exaggeration expressed by...