In The News

Next Wave of Camera-Wielding Tourists Is From China

Howard W. French May 19, 2006
When millions of Japanese began to travel abroad during their country’s economic boom in the 1980s, hotels around the world introduced Japanese-style slippers to their rooms while restaurants created menus adapted to Japanese tastes. More than 20 years later, the international tourism industry faces a similar challenge – this time catering to the rising number of Chinese visiting foreign...

Europe Faces Globalization – Part II

Bruce Stokes May 18, 2006
Free trade may offer macroeconomic benefits, but it also claims human victims – laid-off workers who are lucky to find new jobs for less pay. The developed nations of Europe, with established manufacturing centers and generous social benefits, employ a range of strategies to compete globally with nations that have lower wages and minimal social protections. The second in this two-part series...

L’Europe face à la mondialisation – Part II

Bruce Stokes May 18, 2006
L’économie de marché peut amener des bénéfices macroéconomiques, mais il fait aussi des victimes humaines- des ouvriers qui sont heureux de trouver un nouveau travail et moins bien payé. Les nations développées d’Europe, avec leurs protections sociales généreuses, tentent une série de stratégies pour entrer dans la compétition mondiale avec des nations dont la population a de plus faibles...

Managing Globalization: Old Tax Breaks Fade in New World

Daniel Altman May 17, 2006
Businesses that open subsidiaries solely to reduce tax liabilities may want to think twice before relocating to China or India. Taxation has become more complicated as more firms go multinational and countries welcome more foreign firms. But governments continue to impose and enforce taxation, reports author Daniel Altman. Tax evasion and underreporting are challenges for China. Both China and...

The Perils of Soft Power

Josef Joffe May 16, 2006
Any nation has an array of options for extending influence throughout the world: One is “hard power,” or military escalation. Another method, touted by a group led by Harvard Professor Joseph S. Nye Jr., is “soft power,” or cultural capital deployed across the globe. But soft power can produce antagonistic reactions. US movies, music and education may be popular in other nations, but world...

Drought Insurance for the Third World

Beat Balzli May 15, 2006
After a year of natural disasters, the international community may shrug about the possibility of 6 million Kenyans, Ethiopians and Somalis facing drought and possible starvation. In response, the World Food Program and the World Bank have developed a new plan to replace aid: famine insurance. The new model of relief shifts emphasis from donations to arrangements with international financial...

Japan’s “Strategy” Criticized

Motoshige Ito May 11, 2006
Intellectuals and lawmakers throughout Southeast Asia complain about Japan’s diplomacy strategy for Asia. In this article, Professor Motoshige addresses Japan’s efforts to facilitate economic cooperation with other Asian nations – stemming from concern about China’s rapid economic expansion. Ito contends that Japan should hesitate to present its own model for economic cooperation in East Asia....