In The News

We Either Lead, Or We Get Left

Gordon Smith July 18, 2008
The G8 meetings may soon be in flux as new countries enter the talks or some are excluded. There are many possible options for future G8 meetings. Certain countries can be dropped to make room for others. Another possibility is that membership will be expanded to include the Outreach 5 countries- Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. Either way, Canada, as a leader in building...

What Should the White House Do About Globalization

William Holstein July 17, 2008
Businesses juggle the challenges and rewards of globalization every day – but the process of interaction remains largely a mystery. During the Cold War, globalization had ideological connotations, as it was often viewed as just westernization. Now the term is source of anger and confusion as its consequences are more uncertain. The next US president must define globalization for US citizens and...

The Luckiest Girl

Nicholas D. Kristof July 7, 2008
Beatrice was destined to become another statistic in Africa, a woman without education or much chance of social mobility. But then a goat donated by schoolchildren in Connecticut changed her destiny. Heifer International is a program that encourages church groups and schools to raise funds and donate livestock to the poor in developing nations. A goat reached Beatrice’s village in Uganda, her...

Interconnected We Prosper

William J. Amelio June 27, 2008
The ranks of the middle class have swelled during the past 15 years, as trade and new connections have lifted millions out of poverty, writes William J. Amelio, chief executive of Lenovo, in an essay for the International Herald Tribune. “Not just goods but information and ideas flow across borders constantly and (for the most part) freely as near universal access to Internet-enabled...

Globalization Exposes Food Supply to Unsanitary Practices

June 13, 2008
Countries that import food must check on producers’ sanitary standards, warn scientists attending an American Society for Microbiology meeting, reported on by Science Centric. Lower wages in developing nations and specialized growing environments contribute to the trends in food trade. The US imports more food than it exports, the article reports, and about 15 percent of food consumed in the US...

This Global Show Must Go On

Tyler Cowen June 12, 2008
Living standards have improved immensely throughout the world since 1990, largely due to open trade and globalization. But ordinary observers and intellectuals increasingly express concern about the speed of globalization and suggest that applying some controls could ease climbing commodity prices and inflation. Slowing the global economy would be a challenge, argues economist Tyler Cowen for...

Falling Behind: Globalization and Its Discontents

Henry A. Kissinger June 3, 2008
An emerging global economy and accompanying systems have prompted some countries to cling to power and display nationalistic tendencies. “The basic premise of globalization is that competition will sort out the most efficient, a process that, by definition, involves winners and losers,” writes Henry Kissinger in an opinion essay for the International Herald Tribune. Even occasional losers are...