In The News

Reverse Outsourcing

Nayan Chanda July 6, 2010
An old saying – what goes around comes around – applies to anything global, and that includes outsourcing. France and other developed nations with high labor costs have long and bitterly complained about jobs shifting to low-wage nations like China. But Europe’s rising unemployment, combined with rising wages in China, contribute to an agreement that brings up to 50 Chinese electronics and light-...

Global Migration: A World Ever More on the Move

Jason DeParle June 29, 2010
People’s movement around the globe – for work, wanderlust or safety – has long reordered the world in ways comprehended only decades, even centuries later, notes Jason DeParle for the New York Times. New arrivals influence trade, work habits, schools, culture and politics at all levels. Mobility is at historically high levels, and the United Nations estimates the globe has more than 200 million...

World Cup: The Symbol of a New Postcolonial World Order

Lyal White June 24, 2010
World order is not static in politics, economics, culture or sport. Lyal White, writing for the Mail & Guardian, analyzes the World Cup match between Portugal and Brazil, pointing out the shift in power between former colonial power and emerging power: “While Brazil is on the rise, Portugal is the latest European basket case teetering on the brink of default…. Today a reversal of colonial...

Attention Whole Foods Shoppers

Robert Paarlberg June 21, 2010
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, more than a billion people, most living in developing countries were undernourished last year. In turn, the UN World Food Program identifies poor agricultural infrastructure as a root cause of hunger. Because of “buy local” campaigns in the West, interest has fallen among international donors to fund modern agriculture in developing nations...

The World at Play: Soccer Takes on Globalization

Branko Milanovic June 15, 2010
Soccer is the most globalized sport. Owners of any sporting team demand and pay for top talent from anywhere in the world. Before 1995, soccer rules in Europe limited the number of foreign players to a handful per club. A Belgian player successfully protested that the rules violated European laws on labor mobility and discrimination. Since then, the doors have opened wide and skills in the game...

Unity Through Soccer? Not in the Middle East

James Montague June 15, 2010
While soccer has contributed to nationalism in the face of sectarian violence for some Middle Eastern countries, it also reemphasizes some deep divisions that resound across the region. The violent fallout stemming from the Egypt-Algeria World Cup qualifying match indicates how notions of Middle East unity remain idealistic. Rivalry becomes an excuse for crime, riots and ethnic violence. Soccer...

The Web of Globalization

Nayan Chanda May 24, 2010
Can a country withdraw from globalization, or for that matter, give up democracy in order to benefit from global capital flow? In this column, YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda dissects the recent argument offered by Harvard economist Dani Rodrik, who suggests that “economic globalization, political democracy, and the nation-state are mutually irreconcilable.” Crises that disrupt global capital...