In The News

A Self-Inflicted Wound

Jacob F. Kirkegaard July 1, 2008
The US, long home to many of the world’s most highly skilled workers, could soon be scrambling for replacements. Baby boomers are starting to retire, and their high education levels will be missed. Since the baby boomers emerged in the work force, the US became complacent about its public-education system. As a result, young American workers increasingly struggle to compete with skilled foreign...

Labor Row

June 30, 2008
The economies of oil-rich nations depend on immigrant labor from Bangladesh to clean and build, fix and cook. Workers are separated for months from families and work in harsh conditions for low wages in countries with lavish lifestyles. The alleged murder of a Bahraini supervisor by a Bangladeshi mechanic has exposed the inequality and tensions that go hand in hand with relying on immigrant...

An Uncertain Victory for China’s Workers

Lyle Morris June 24, 2008
China’s expansion, fueled by cheap exports that poorly paid workers produce, may slow with a new labor law in force. The law aims to protect laborers and improve global perceptions of China’s human-rights record. Companies in China, both domestic and foreign, have been notorious about hiring workers with short-term contracts. The law provides higher wages and greater job security, including a...

Spain, Like US, Grapples With Immigration

Jason DeParle June 19, 2008
Millions of non-citizens, with 600,000 recently legalized, power Spain’s economy. The once illegal immigrants now command higher wages and enjoy job security. But a recent economic downturn has spurred unemployment, and Spanish citizens looking for work are understandably dissatisfied. Throughout open Europe, many critics question whether legalization programs approved in the southern countries...

Stung by Soaring Transport Costs, Factories Bring Jobs Home Again

June 18, 2008
Rising energy costs are putting the brakes to rapid globalization – and in some cases even reversing gears. Manufacturers are rethinking any plans to open new factories in low-wage nations, and some even ponder returning factories to the US and Mexico from China, reports Timothy Aeppel for the Wall Street Journal. Transportation costs are now equal to a 9 percent tariff on US imports, notes one...

Perceptions and Realities of Globalization

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard May 30, 2008
Globalization is a non-stop economic process. Individuals, companies or governments are always on the lookout for new processes or innovations – and so the economic and power structure of the world is never stagnant. The West made a mistake in assuming that the flow of technology and know-how moves only one way, from developed to developing nations. As a result, voters in the West are puzzled and...

Workers of Our World, Legal or Not

Tim Rutten May 27, 2008
The protests and demands by immigrants in the US, both legal and not, have been subdued in 2008, even though this is a presidential election year. “Immigration is one of those campaign issues in which rhetoric and reality continue to move further apart,” writes Tim Rutten for the Los Angeles Times. The US is home for at least 12 million undocumented immigrants and such labor is essential for some...