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81. A Cacophony of Dissonance

Author:
David A. Andelman
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
TIRANA, Albania—In the last national elections here in June, there were 66 political parties, many with names so similar that the banners stretching across streets in even the humblest of villages, identified not only the name of the party and its standard-bearer, but the party's number on the ballot. "Vote #44," the banners for the Democratic Party of incumbent Prime Minister Sali Barisha screamed in blue and white. "Vote #29," pleaded the red and white banners of the Socialist Party and its challenger, Edi Rama. But they were only the most prominently and widely displayed. A kaleidoscope of other numbers and politicos vied for attention.
Political Geography:
Albania and Tirana

82. Unchaining Labor

Author:
David A. Andelman
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
The ability to create, sustain, and develop work in a pleasant and profitable environment is the touchstone of success for an economy, a society, and a government. Productive work has been the determinant of happiness, well-being, and satisfaction since the first human rubbed two sticks together and created fire. Now in almost every corner of the globe, stagnation and gluttony have thrown millions out of work. Workers find themselves chained to a system that leaves them unable to control their future.

83. The Big Question: Manufacturing Jobs: What Is the Best Way to Create Jobs?

Author:
David Fine, Megan Yarema, Pedro Conceicao, Irene Mandl, Raymond Greene, and Ana Maria Oviedo
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
With jobs disappearing across the developed world and arriving too slowly to keep pace with the population growth and aspirations of the developing world, the very nature of work is being challenged as never before. We asked our panel of global experts what they see as the most effective and expeditious way of creating jobs.

84. Jobs Crisis: Moving Forward?

Author:
Raymond Torres
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Geneva—Europe has entered an employment crisis of alarming proportions and with unpredictable social and political consequences. The figures speak for themselves. Over 27 million Europeans are unemployed—8 million more than when the global financial crisis erupted in September 2008. While the employment free fall paused during 2010-2011, it has gathered momentum ever since. Over the past six months alone, unemployment has grown by 2.5 million people. Though the trends are worse in southern European countries and parts of Eastern Europe, unemployment has resumed its upward trend even in hitherto successful European countries.
Political Geography:
Europe

85. Map Room: Turning Over Tech Workers

Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Across Europe, the days of having a single career at a single company are over. The increased movement of labor from job to job is a major cost for both companies and countries. The price of replacing a single employee in a given country (Cost of Turnover) reflects the sum of all expenses and opportunity costs to separate and rehire an employee. It can range from 20 percent to an incredible 200 percent of that employee's annual salary. This map of science and technology workers, a reflection of their tremendous influence on economic growth, shows the Cost of Turnover as a percentage of a country's per capita GDP. A higher percentage reflects a more significant financial burden on the nation. Because of the way this ratio is expressed, countries with widely disparate economic sizes and growth rates may be comparable. Each country faces its own economic challenges, but a high Relative Cost of Turnover indicates that a nation loses more money to replace science and technology talent, which can make sustaining industry performance difficult. What this map and new data also reveal are the countries where turnover is relatively cheap, making these countries ripe for further science and technology ventures.
Political Geography:
Europe

86. Anatomy: Labor Demographics

Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Demographics show the way labor forces develop and place burdens on workers that dramatically affect a country's quality of life. Using population pyramids, World Policy Journal has highlighted how demographics can govern the challenges facing a country's workforce.
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, and Brazil

87. China's Left-Behind

Author:
Helen Gao
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
GUANG'AN, China—Jiang Xin leaves school at 2:30 p.m. every-day. On his way home, the 8-year- old usually lingers by the rice fields with his friends for an hour or so, squatting on the edge of a dirt road, where trucks loaded with coal roar by. They play with pebbles, exchange school gossip, or punch the buttons of Jiang's video game player, which he wrapped in tape to prevent from falling apart. Their cattle stand together in a nearby field, grazing on grass stalks.
Topic:
Education
Political Geography:
China

88. A View from the Sweatshop Floor: A Conversation with Nazma Akter

Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
Twenty-seven years ago, at the age of 11, Nazma Akter entered a Bangladeshi garment factory for the first time, laboring beside her mother. Seven years later, frustrated by the deep politicization of the existing unions—their close ties with factory owners, corrupt bureaucrats, and politicians—she formed her own union, the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, to defend the interests of tens of thousands of Bangladeshis, primarily women garment workers. Lured from the countryside with promises of a better life, too many find themselves in ill-managed and poorly built factories where catastrophes can strike at anytime. Today, Akter is at the front lines of the battle that has enmeshed global brands, crumbling factories, workers, and consumers. Not long after the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza complex in April where more than 1,100 workers lost their lives, she spoke from Dhaka with World Policy Journal editor David A. Andelman, managing editor Christopher Shay, and contributing writer Edward Bearnot.
Political Geography:
Bangladesh

89. Surviving a Cold War

Author:
Robert Nickelsberg and Judith Matloff
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
S KJOLD, Norway—The bullets were real. But fortunately for the Norwegian snipers, this was just an exercise. If it had been real combat, the enemy would have easily spotted the troops in the vast whiteness of the Arctic. The white camouflage uniforms didn't match the ever-changing color of snow. The men's breath and shadows were easily seen in the frost. And the extreme cold impaired the sharpshooters' accuracy by influencing bullet speeds.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Norway

90. A Torrent of Consequences

Author:
Jacques Leslie
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
World Policy Journal
Institution:
World Policy Institute
Abstract:
THIMPHU, Bhutan—If any nation deserves a waiver from the depredations of climate change, it is surely the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. A Maryland-sized postage stamp of a country, it is entirely surrounded by the world's two most populous nations, India and China, but resembles neither. Bhutan is the no-hunting, no-fishing, no-billboards, no-smoking, no-genetically-modified organisms, no-plastic-bags, no-stoplights, no-mountaineering exception to the world as we know it. The country is poor and seeks development, but only on its terms—not at the expense of its profoundly reverent but vulnerable Buddhist culture and its fragile, achingly beautiful mountain terrain.
Political Geography:
United States, China, India, Bhutan, and Thimphu