In The News

Unpopular Globalization: Why So Many Are Opposed

David Dapice February 2, 2006
The world economy has done well in recent years, yet workers in rich nations remain anxious about how globalization will affect future jobs, wages and benefits. In the US, Ford and General Motors have slashed jobs and closed plants. Plentiful skilled labor in emerging countries raises fears about depressed wages worldwide. More importantly, specific policies and conditions in Europe and the US...

The Future of Outsourcing

Pete Engardio February 1, 2006
In recent years, the specter of outsourcing has haunted US business and labor. Much as competition from China and Mexico decimated the US manufacturing base, remote call centers and consulting firms flourishing in India and elsewhere in the developing world could put thousands of white-collar middle-class jobs in peril. Desperate to cut corners and costs, many leaders of US corporations became...

Free and Fair Trade

Noam Chomsky January 30, 2006
MIT professor Noam Chomsky envisions the potential of “just globalization,” in an interview with Global Agenda, and raises concerns about the lack of truly free trade and evenhanded governance within the changing global business climate. Contending that everyone favors globalization, or “international integration,” he cautions about divisive applications that are detrimental to the rights of...

Globalisation Focus Shifts from Costs to Customers

Reuters January 30, 2006
Survey results released at this week’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos suggest that the orientation of global business is shifting. Companies no longer regard large developing countries like China, India and Brazil as merely sources of cheap labor. A survey of executives conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that businessmen expect developing countries to play a much...

No Single Recipe for Facing Challenges of Globalization

Takashi Kitazume January 28, 2006
Though it still makes headlines, outsourcing may be going out of style. At a recent Tokyo symposium held in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, a bevy of economists assessed the costs of outsourcing for companies. Announcing the findings of a five-year study of more than 500 firms, MIT economist Suzanne Berger suggested that a range of strategies can lead to success...

A New Wrinkle for Globalization

Katrin Bennhold January 26, 2006
For its proponents and opponents alike, economic globalization’s greatest force is its disregard for the sanctity of national borders. Some analysts have forecasted that growing cross-border transaction will weaken the nation-state as we know it. Yet recent events suggest otherwise. While some nations empowered by natural resources like oil and gas have been flexing their muscles against...

"Voice of the People"

January 23, 2006
After polling more than 50,000 people from around the world, a World Economic Forum survey, administered by Gallup, "overwhelmingly found that political leaders are dishonest, have too much power and are too easily influenced." The results of the survey, branded the "Voice of the People," were announced just before the start of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in...