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Many claim that international labor standards are a remedy to address poor working conditions and low wages in developing countries. Others have argued that efforts to impose a "living wage" or improve working conditions in developing countries can lead to higher labor costs, which could in turn hurt the very workers these movements seek to protect by relegating these workers to even worse jobs or no jobs at all. Many labor rights activists have turned to public relations campaigns and boycotts that target multinational companies to pressure them to improve the conditions of their workers. In the 1990s, Indonesia--home to dozens of Nike, Reebok, and Adidas subcontractors--was a primary target for these activists. At the same time, the Indonesian government--prompted by the U.S. government--greatly increased its minimum wage. These two different interventions led to a doubling of wages for unskilled workers in Indonesia. Although the minimum wage increases did lead to employment losses, this article reports on a study that shows that employment remained steady in textiles and apparel, indicating that anti-sweatshop activism in Indonesia was a "win-win" situation.

In preparation for hosting the 2004 Olympics, the city of Athens, Greece embarked on an extensive renovation project, New Images for Athens, to beautify the city. In total, over 1,600 buildings received attention at a cost of over 4.5 million euros. The work was carried out through a partnership that involved local officials, architects, skilled trades people, the business community, and Greek citizens. Initial results were visually impressive; most of the projects lay along the routes to the Olympic venues in the city and tourists enjoyed the brightly colored buildings and small parks that were created. However, after the Olympics, Athens had to evaluate the long-term gains from the NIA program. What value had been created initially and how could that value be sustained for the permanent residents of the city. HKS Case Number 1821.0

The proposed takeover of Noranda Inc. (one of the biggest mineral players in the world) by the Chinese state owned enterprise, China Minmetals Corporation, was cause for Canadian government concern as it required some understanding about the workings and objectives of state owned enterprises. There was particular concern around the labour issues and human rights violations in China, and the possible impact of these on the proposed takeover. Equally important, Canada ran the substantial risk of sending the wrong message to the People's Republic of China if it was to block such a takeover, and in some respects, to be seen as shutting its doors to one of the world's largest and most powerful emerging economies.

Focuses on the formulation of the Northwestern Ordinance as the core of a development strategy for capitalism and democracy in the United States. A precursor to the Constitution, the Northwestern Ordinance was based on the New England Model to achieve a broad and relatively equal distribution of land, ensuring that the distribution of economic and political power was also roughly congruent. By the time Alexis de Tocqueville made his study of American democracy, he observed that capitalism was producing economies of scale and increasing productivity, leading to heightened inequality and the eventual formation of an aristocracy, i.e., capitalism was driving incongruities between economic and political power.

Describes the history of the tobacco industry and its emergence as an extremely effective marketer and non-market strategist. After years of success, both publicly and politically, the leaders of the tobacco industry are faced with mounting political pressure and the financial threat of litigation from class-action lawsuits. The leaders face an industry-wide strategic decision of whether to acquiesce to government demands in exchange for immunity, focus on judicial success, or develop a new course of action.

The Japanese banking industry entered a major crisis in the 1990s, as massive nonperforming loans threatened the survival of even the largest banks. This was a far cry from Japan's stellar growth from 1950 and the heady days of spiraling property and stock market prices in the 1980s. Traces the development of the Japanese economy from the end of the Second World War, the role of international trade flows and finance and foreign direct investment as well as the part played by the Japanese banking sector in those developments. By the year 2000, the government had spent trillions of yen in rescue packages, including the nationalization of two of the largest banks, and was attempting to institute banking sector reforms to resolve the crisis.

Presents remarks by Alan Greenspan and Ben Bernanke on monetary policy, explicit inflation targets, and the relative merits of asset price targeting.

Researchers have identified four cultural tensions that will influence how Chinese leaders develop over the next 15 years.

In 1995, Sumio Abekawa, Daiwa Bank's president, received a letter on July 18 from Toshihide Iguchi, vice-president of the bank's New York branch. In that letter, Iguchi confessed that over the course of 11 years, he lost nearly $1.1 billion (approximately 123 billion yen) through the unauthorized trading of United States Treasury Bonds and had sold securities the bank had in custody to cover losses. Two months later, Daiwa's senior management reported the loss to the Federal Reserve Board of New York (FRB) and the New York State Banking Department. The bank directors faced several questions: Had the bank taken the appropriate steps to comply with U.S. reporting requirements? What was the potential liability of the directors? Would the Japanese bank directors be held liable for violating the law of a foreign country? How could the Japanese Ministry of Finance help?

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Brazil's secretary of trade and production for the Ministry of Agriculture, Pedro de Camargo Neto, has won a WTO sugar decision for Brazil against the EU sugar policies. Analyzes what this decision will mean to world food policies, especially those of the EU and the United States. The ruling strengthens the WTO as a decision maker with respect to fair trade policy. The issue is what actions will the various private and public decision makers now take to make this ruling work and not put too big a burden on any one segment of the economy.

Discusses the role of foreign direct investment in China as a major driver for the high growth observed in the country since 1978.

Explores the interactions between China and its neighbors, and considers how those interactions will change as China emerges on the world economic stage in the coming years.

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In 2004, for the first time, foreigners owned more than half of privately held U.S. public debt, mostly in the form of marketable U.S. Treasury securities. In internal discussions at the U.S. Treasury Department, the increase in the foreign appetite for Treasury securities represented global investors' vote of confidence in the U.S. economy. Many in the Treasury believed that broad foreign ownership helped lower Treasury borrowing costs. But there was an increasing uneasiness among many in Washington's power circle about U.S. dependence on foreign loans. This case describes the meeting between the Treasury and the Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee (TBAC) of the Bond Market Association on August 3, 2004, in which the Treasury gave the Committee the charge to discuss, among other issues, the level of foreign ownership. Written for a first-year course entitled "Global Economies and Markets," this case describes the market for U.S. Treasury securities, giving details on market institutions and market participants, and some of the reasons U.S. Treasury securities serve as benchmarks and hedging instruments. As the third case in the module on global markets, it is used to describe a market that is closest to the ideal of a perfectly competitive market and to illustrate the relationship between market institutions and structure on the one hand, and market liquidity and efficiency on the other. The case has also been used in the module on open economy in Darden's first year MBA program. In this usage, it is generally preceded by a case that introduces the concept of real exchange rate and economic exposure to foreign exchange risks, and a discussion on balance of payments accounting. This case (UV1366) or the abridged version (UVA-F-1540) is then used to introduce the model of a large open economy. The case is usually followed by classes on exchange rate determination, exchange rate regimes, and balance of payments crises.

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The government of South Korea has chosen John Hynes and Gale International to construct New Songdo City. This is an entirely new city, about the size of Boston, between the new Incheon airport and the capital of Seoul. The proposed city is the government's attempt to create an Asian financial and business center to rival Shanghai and Tokyo. But how to design, market, build, and finance a whole city is up for grabs. Is this the typical developer hubris or can it really work?

The Granholm v. Heald decision suggests that the Supreme Court is prepared to protect e-commerce initiatives.

Emerging markets have attracted considerable attention and are likely to become an increasingly important political and economic force. They represent an enormous opportunity for entrepreneurs, multinationals, and investors but also pose a threat for products, jobs, and resources. They have the potential to redefine the way business is done in many industries but remain shrouded by myths. Provides an overview of the importance of emerging markets. Discusses the opportunities in and threats posed by emerging markets. Shows how studying emerging markets can provide new insights into business conglomerates, industry profitability, and corporate governance and discusses common perceptions and misconceptions of emerging markets.

Provides background on the history and status of financial integration in the European Union. Describes the pertinent treaty-based "fundamental freedoms," emphasizes challenges to further cross-border consolidation in the banking sector, and examines the regulatory role of the European Commission in fostering conditions conducive to further financial integration.