In The News

How Serious Is the Chinese Challenge? Part I

Bruce Stokes July 13, 2010
There’s no question that China is on the rise, assisted by unprecedented economic growth. This YaleGlobal series explores economic, political and strategic implications for the globe. In the first of a two-part series, columnist Bruce Stokes notes that much of the discomfort in the US or Europe stems from their self-doubt. With strong economic momentum, no debt and one-sixth of the world’s...

Chinese Rating Agency Strips Western Nations of AAA Status

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard July 13, 2010
Credit agencies assign ratings based on the risk of timely payments, and some US agencies have been faulted for underestimating the risk of major Western corporations. Now, China’s Dagong Global Credit Rating Co. demonstrate wariness about debt held by developed nations as well as how western credit agencies like Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s or Fitch evaluate that debt. Dagong emphasizes “...

Worry on the Jobs Front

Nayan Chanda July 12, 2010
Global economic recession severely curtailed hiring in the developed nations – and economists debate whether the slowdown is temporary or a “new normal,” explains Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online, writing for the Times of India. Some analysts blame outsourcing, low-cost labor and minimal regulations in emerging economies for high unemployment rates. Yet decisions of policymakers,...

Influence Industry: US Honey Industry Asks FDA for National Purity Standard

Dan Eggen July 9, 2010
Competition with Chinese imports unnerves the maker of any product. The US honey industry, already suffering from a declining bee population, seeks government help in preventing honey laundering or counterfeiting. The US honey industry accuses some Chinese makers of diluting products or transporting goods to third countries to avoid anti-dumping duties, reports Dan Eggen for the Washington Post....

Companies Brace for End of Cheap Made-in-China Era

Elaine Kurtenbach July 9, 2010
An array of low-cost goods in stores of the West is possible because of ample Chinese workers willing to work for a few dollars a day. But the days of low-cost bounty could be ending, as more Chinese are willing to unionize and go on strike for better wages and benefits. Higher shipping costs and pressure from the West for China to increase the value of its currency add to an uncertain business...

Smaller Dragon Takes Global Strides

Jean-Pierre Lehmann July 8, 2010
For two decades, US leaders regarded communist North Vietnam as a threat to freedom and American generals vowed to bomb the regime into submission, before abandoning the fight in 1975. The US pursued an isolation policy, and Vietnam unified, yet wallowed in economic stagnation as it confiscated private property, re-educated opponents and allied with the Soviet Union. As the Soviet Union crumbled...

Forget India, Outsource to Arkansas

Jennifer Alsever July 8, 2010
With a national unemployment rate approaching 10 percent, relatively high for the US, biotech and IT technology firms eye low-cost labor rural communities in states like Arkansas, Missouri and Minnesota. Dubbed “rural outsourcing” by this CNN Money article, the work entails providing IT support or customizing software code. “For some companies, the thought of outsourcing work to countries with...