In The News

US, The New Saver

Nayan Chanda October 14, 2009
The recent bleak unemployment report for the US suggests that the economic recovery is likely to be W-, rather than, V-shaped. But the 9.8 percent unemployment rate is only part of the picture: when including the “underemployed”, the rate is roughly double. What this means is that the US isn’t going to be consuming that much during what is normally the biggest spending period of the year –...

Free Trade Has Enriched the World with More than Diverse Goods

Daniel Griswold October 2, 2009
Amid the rise in unemployment across the globe, trade is the oft-cited cause for the current malaise. Hence, according to populists, restricting trade should be the cure. But, Director for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Daniel Griswold says the populists have it wrong. If one really wants to help the poor, fostering trade is the key since it delivers the lowest cost staple goods that...

Numerous Foreign Trainees Forced to Work under Harsh Conditions in Japan

September 1, 2009
Far away from home and eager to work, migrant workers can be easy targets for exploitation. In Japan, the story is no different. Foreign vocational trainees in Japan, especially from China, have been forced to work overtime at little or no pay and are often paid illegally low wages. Even worse, foreign employment agencies charged exorbitant fees to send trainees to Japan, leaving many indebted...

American Graduates Finding Jobs in China

Hannah Seligson August 19, 2009
Faced with near double-digit unemployment at home, US college graduates are flocking to China due to its growing economy, entrepreneurial atmosphere and lower cost of living, not to mention its low urban unemployment. What is perhaps surprising is that a number of these graduates knew little about China or its language before arriving. But the opportunity for quick advancement proved more...

Overseas and Under Siege

August 18, 2009
Since 2006, Chinese immigrants have suffered a backlash of violence at the hands of locals in the Solomon Islands, Lesotho, and Algeria, among others. The reasons behind the widespread anti-Chinese sentiment range from cultural clashes to accusations of meddling in local politics. But a more fundamental reason could be rooted in economics, xenophobia notwithstanding. China’s sponsorship of...

Fortress Europe: Solving Immigration by Outsourced Bouncers

Shada Islam August 18, 2009
The European Union’s tough new stance on immigration and asylum policies has ramifications for the region’s labor shortages, coming demographic crises, and adherence to the rule of law. Brussels-based journalist Shada Islam writes that perhaps the most controversial aspect of this new stance is Italy’s choice to intercept refugees in the Mediterranean and the subsequently push them back with...

Cambodia Has to Cope With its Global Connection

Anne-Laure Porée August 11, 2009
Once the poster child for the benefits of globalization, Cambodia is now being asked to cope with its darker side in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The four pillars of the country’s economy – tourism, garment-making, construction, and agriculture – are feeling the global pinch in their various ways, writes journalist Anne-Laure Porée. Tourism is down thanks to the global stay-at-home...