In The News

Check Out That Colombian Tata!

Daniel Gross April 13, 2010
On a trip to Colombia, the author was surprised to find an example of the new nature of international corporations. Tata Consultancy is a branch of the Indian car company that recently bought several British and American brand-name car labels. Tata’s Colombian branch is providing services to a number of Latin American governments and corporations. An Argentinian manager oversees employees from a...

The Caribbean Brain Drain: Nursing a Grievance

April 12, 2010
According to the World Bank, only one-quarter of nurses in the English-speaking Caribbean remain working in their countries. The rest leaves to work abroad, where working and living conditions are significantly better. The economic incentives of working abroad outweigh the challenges of staying. This is not a new phenomenon: it has been taking place for almost two centuries and is not confined to...

Brazil: Poster Boy of Globalization Charts Own Course

Kevin Casas-Zamora April 9, 2010
Leaving behind its history as an underdeveloped state dependent on US foreign aid and security umbrella, South America’s largest nation has ridden the wave of globalization to become a formidable economic and diplomatic power. In just two decades, Brazil cultivated a middle class by opening its economy and curbing inflation while installing social programs that radically reduced poverty. Timely...

Crumbs from the BRICs-Man’s Table

April 7, 2010
As global recession enfeebles the rich world, big middle-income countries, led by the BRICs, (Brazil, Russia, India and China) have dramatically increased their economic interest in poorer countries, and by consequence, their influence. This has taken direct – aid, investment, and trade – and indirect means, and continues to increase rapidly: the growing drought of rich-world assistance to Africa...

Marketing to Brazil's Emerging Middle Class

Seth Kugel March 31, 2010
The purchasing power of lower- and middle-class Brazilians is expanding rapidly, creating new opportunities and markets for global companies. Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, for instance, has repackaged a denture adhesive and is trying to sell it in slum communities in Rio de Janeiro. But the transition to the new market is not easy. For one thing, no one in these communities knows what a...

Toyota’s Stumble is Not a Metaphor for Japan Inc.

Lam Peng Er March 26, 2010
Many equate Toyota’s current woes with a failure of Japan Inc, even Japan itself, according to East Asian specialist Lam Peng Er. But this would be a mistake. Toyota’s ills are really a congeries of missteps now caught up in conspiracy theories and political wrangling. For years, Toyota was synonymous with Japanese manufacturing excellence. But this search for constant improvement at an ever...

Germany: Responsible for Europe’s crisis?

Cameron Abadi March 22, 2010
Germany’s economic policies have strengthened its domestic economy but weakened Europe’s less developed economies. Low prices, resulting from low wage increases, have made German products more competitive in the European market. Meanwhile, domestic consumption has shown muted growth, allowing imports to remain low. The result is a high trade surplus and one of the largest GDPs in Europe. But...