NDN Blog

Globalization- Weekly Roundup, June 15, 2011

The latest on "the rise of the rest": curbing inflation in India and China, the effort to keep IMF leadership in European hands, business ventures courting Latin American online audiences and Indonesia's globalization vision

There have recently been troublesome indications in some of the world's fastest-growing economies: rising inflation coupled with slowing growth in India and the central bank in China raising the reserve ratio for the 6th time this year to counter its own inflation problems...if there are two stories about it in the New York Times on the same day (the links to which are embedded above) it's probably worth keeping an eye on.

A new development in the race to suceed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as managing director of the IMF has further exemplified the European countries' willingness to try every tool at their disposal to keep management out of the hands of non-Europeans.  With the Bank of Israel governor and India's candidate now both removed from the running and the Mexican candidate as a self-described "long-shot candidate" behind the French favorite, it is likely that their efforts will be successful.

Portada, a leading source for Hispanic marketing and advertising news and resources, published an interesting analysis article on whether it makes sense to invest in ventures targeting global Latin American audiences. (Hint: their short answer is yes.)  For example, the rationale behind many companies' decisions to invest in such firms:

“the Hispanic and Latin American audience online has gotten to critical mass and continues to grow rapidly. It has substantial buying power but is underserved..."- Greg Sands, Managing Director of Sutter Hill Ventures, 2006

And:

...Spain’s Grupo Prisa’s Paul Westhorpe, Managing Director Global Digital Sales & Strategy, assert[ed] that by 2015 Prisa expects 70% of its digital revenues to come from the U.S Hispanic market and Latin America.

The Jakarta Globe wrote a very blunt article on Monday on why the globalization genie can't be put back in the bottle.  Below is the President of Indonesia's statement on how countries should be responding:

...the solution is for business leaders to work with government to  drive growth through innovation and push for greater economic openness.

He also expresses a need for Asian governments not to revert to short-term thinking and protectionist policies.

On modernizing policies to keep up with globalization: women's empowerment, ending protectionism, skill-building and worker protection programs

Arnab Chakraborty with India Blooms reports on U.S. Consul General Elizabeth A. Payne's belief that efforts towards women's empowerment are imperative to keep up with globalization and the challenges it brings.  Below is an excerpt from the article on the main areas of women's empowerment that she believes must be focused on:

...three prime areas demanding immediate attention as they are necessary requisites for empowering women in all spheres of society, namely – education, economic self-sufficiency and political voice.

Continuing the fight against protectionism: a new statement from India's Minister of Labour and Employment on why labor standards are no excuse for enacting protectionist trade policies (as well as India's plans for instituting programs on skill building and protection for workers)

 

Latin America: Arms Trafficking, Ash Clouds, Scientific Advancement, China and more

Below are some of the past week's most interesting stories on Latin America.  They range from arms trafficking in Mexico to a high-profile resignation in Brazil, to an amazing opportunity to promote scientific advancement across the region.  Enjoy!

A shocking Congressional report found that 70% of firearms recovered from Mexican crime scenes in 2009 and 2010 came from the U.S., prompting new proposals to curb arms trafficking. The full article from BBC News can be found here.  Given the violence in Mexico over the past week, this report comes at an especially poignant time. Below is Mexican President Felipe Calderon's fiery response to the situation:

"Why does this arms business continue?" he asked.

"I say it openly: it's because of the profit which the US arms industry makes," he added.

Not to say that both sides aren't to blame, especially last week's arrest of former Tijuana Mayor Jorge Hank Rohn for stockpiling weapons. (Elisabeth Malkin's New York Times story can be found here)

Here is a link to some incredible pictures of Chile's volcanic ash cloud, which continues to disrupt air traffic as far away as New Zealand and may have disastrous long-term effects on agriculture in Southern Chile and Argentina. (BBC News story here, which includes some amazing aerial video footage)

Lots of people are talking about China's push into Africa nowadays, but China also has important ties with Latin America.  In fact, according to Chen Weihua with China Daily:

China is now Latin America's second-largest trade partner, trailing the United States. Meanwhile, China's imports from Latin America grew more rapidly than from any other region. About 8 percent of Latin America's exports went to China last year.

China is now saying that it wants to broaden these ties.  Chen Weihua's article can be found here.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's chief of staff resigned last Tuesday under dubious circumstances, casting doubt on the strength of the President's government and her personal ability to judge character.

On a happier note, 10 outstanding young Latin American scientists were chosen as Pew fellows in the Biomedical Sciences, a program which will provide the fellows with $60,000 in salary support, opportunities to work with leading U.S. researchers and $35,000 to establish research laboratories and further scientific research in their home countries.

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