In The News

Calling India

Scott Kraft May 10, 2007
The word “outsourcing” may carry plenty of negative connotations in the US – but not when consumers are hunting for a good deal. Parents in the US, desperate to help their children achieve in an increasingly competitive global environment, seek tutoring services but don’t want to spend a lot of money. Using a voice-over-internet phone and an interactive computer “whiteboard,” a pupil in Beverly...

Sources: New Law to Jolt Outsourcing

Shen Jianyuan May 4, 2007
China is drafting policy to bestow preferential tax treatment for its firms that focus on information-technology (IT) or business-process outsourcing. “Industry insiders regard this as an effort to overtake India in the outsourcing industry,” writes Shen Jianyuan for “The Economic Observer Online,” adding that the new policies will define and boost an industry now described as “disorganized.” The...

Unions for a Global Economy

Harold Meyerson May 3, 2007
Workers are following the footsteps of business executives, expanding and gaining global influence by merging with counterparts in other sectors and around the world. “As unions begin their inevitable transformation into global entities, globalization's cheerleaders must define themselves more clearly, urges “Washington Post” columnist Harold Meyerson. “In other words, are they really for...

Eastern Europe Becomes a Center for Outsourcing

John Tagliabue April 30, 2007
Be careful what you wish for, goes the old saying. People in Western Europe once grumbled about immigrants from Eastern Europe seeking work. But instead of people moving about, more Western European firms shift jobs to Eastern Europe, reports journalist John Tagliabue in “The New York Times.” The global outsourcing market is worth almost $400 billion this year. Eastern European nations like the...

Free Markets Need Free People

Gordon H. Hanson April 23, 2007
Even as US politicians and consumers decry any illegalities associated with immigration, the US economy is hooked on the conveniences that accompany cheap labor. For unskilled workers, illegal immigration is easier and provides more immediate awards than legal immigration, argues Gordon Hanson of the Center on Pacific Economies. Rigid guest-worker policies combined with strict enforcement drive...

Managing Globalization: Has It Hurt US Workers?

Daniel Altman April 18, 2007
Workers in the wealthy nations like the US are not losing jobs to immigrants or outsourcing, suggests globalization analyst Daniel Altman in “The International Herald Tribune.” However, intense competition among global labor markets, along with rising health-care costs in the US, could be keeping the lid on wages. “The largest cost isn't those who lose their jobs but those who have lower...

India’s Skills Famine

James Surowiecki April 18, 2007
Entrepreneurship in India has captured the attention of onlookers around the world. But despite many success stories, the world’s second most populated nation has run into a big challenge – a shortage of skilled workers. Education opportunities are limited, with only 10 percent of Indians pursuing higher education and 30 percent of the population labeled as illiterate. Yet “India’s impressive...