In The News

Programming Jobs are Heading Overseas by the Thousands

Stephen Baker February 23, 2004
Future computer programmers in the US and India are approaching vastly different thresholds. As US software programmers' career prospects are dwindling, Indian tech graduates see futures "brimming with optimism." In the past three years, the number of jobs offshored from the US has nearly tripled, and economists predict that one in ten tech jobs in the US eventually will move to...

Women's Work: Globalization's Mixed Blessings

Erika Kinetz February 21, 2004
Women are generally preferred over men as workers in garment factories, presumably because of their "nimble fingers" and their perceived docility. In Cambodia and Bangladesh, an overwhelming majority of workers in garment factories are women. However, a study conducted by Oxfam International, a global relief agency, found that with multinational companies increasingly cutting down wages...

GE Taps a World of Local Skills

Peter Marsh February 18, 2004
American industrial giant General Electric is following it competitors in setting up research centers around the globe. Like Siemens, Philips, and IBM, GE has recognized the importance of tapping into researchers and technological disciplines beyond its home country's borders. The company's new European research center will soon be set up in Germany to the tune of $52 million. GE...

Echoes of Panic over Global Disease

Philip Bowring February 17, 2004
Philip Bowring believes lessons from history should inform our current concerns over global epidemics. While epidemics lead to widespread fears and calls for global advisory boards and local action, Bowring asserts that we would be wise to question virologists, journalists, and health officials on the level of threat they suppose looms around the corner. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)...

A Development Nightmare

Kenneth Rogoff February 16, 2004
As much as wealthier nations purport to want to make the world's economy more equitable, Kenneth Rogoff, the director of the Center for International Development at Harvard University, argues that this is an unsustainable dream. The standard of living enjoyed by most Americans would destroy the environment, raise gas prices to outrageous levels, and generally wreck havoc on limited...

President Bush's New Plan to Stop Proliferation

Joseph Cirincione February 13, 2004
Under US President George W. Bush's newly proposed plan, only a handful of countries would be allowed to develop nuclear fuel. These countries could, in turn, sell fuel only to states that renounce enrichment and reprocessing. Joseph Cirincione, Director of the Non-Proliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, believes that although the proposal does represent an...

Hidden Nuclear Drawings Found in Iran

Sonni Efron February 13, 2004
The discovery of blueprints for a device used to enrich uranium has renewed Washington's suspicions of a covert nuclear program in Iran. Washington is considering referring Iran's nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the United Nations Security Council. As the international community considers the most appropriate international response, investigators...