In The News

Vietnam Cutting Back on Coffee to Ease Glut

Jason Folkmanis May 19, 2003
After increasing coffee production more than six-fold in the past ten years to becoming the world's second biggest coffee producer, Vietnam is now trying to decrease its farmers' reliance on coffee. Global prices are simply too low to justify coffee's large role in Vietnam's agriculture, say officials. – YaleGlobal

Latest SARS Victim Is Clothing Industry

Tracie Rozhon May 17, 2003
Clothing manufacturers in China, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong have been the biggest suppliers for the American clothing industry. With the Sars outbreak, however, many garment merchants in the US have experienced time delays when they want to examine the samples and inspect the production. The US Customs has decided to hold packages from Sars-affected countries for four days before...

Globalization Squeezes Rural Factories, Jobs

David Pitt May 16, 2003
Factories in rural America are experiencing significant layoffs that threaten the stability and growth of the rural American economy. A major factor for this economic downturn is globalization: workers in rural America now compete with workers everywhere. A refrigerator factory in rural Illinois is scheduled to close, leaving 1,600 workers without jobs, and crippling the local economy. The...

Roh Stresses 'Win-Win Model' in Industrial Relations

Roh Moo-hyun May 15, 2003
In his speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Korea Business Council in Washington, South Korean President, Roh Moo-hyun, spoke at length on two major aspects of market reforms in South Korea: corporate transparency and labor-management relations. The public engagement also provided an important opportunity to reiterate South Korea's commitment to strengthening its relationship...

A More Just Fair Trade Is Needed

H. A. Harry Hendrarto May 14, 2003
The World Fair Trade Day on May 17 highlights sustainable development and the connections between economic production and the environment globally. Free trade has benefited the developed world and contributed to increasing poverty in the developing world, says the author of this article. Countries in Europe and North America have the greatest share of revenues from free trade. International...

Eastern Germany to Stay Aboard EU Subsidy Train

Carola Schlagheck May 9, 2003
Economic integration on a scale the size of Europe is not easily accomplished. A plan to bring in another 10 member states expands the possibilities for regional cooperation, but it has also threatened to harm the economy of the former East Germany. After some deliberation, the European Commission agreed this week to continue subsidizing eastern Germany for the next few years, even though...

Capitalism Sputters to Life Across Iraq

Maureen Fan May 6, 2003
In the wake of the US-led war in Iraq, free-market capitalism seems to be all the rage. Daily fluctuations in prices and a lack of social order, however, are leaving some Iraqis underwhelmed by their newfound economic freedom. Without proper police protection or market-setting authorities, both consumers and vendors are experiencing the pains of unregulated exchange, profiting on one day and...