financial crisis and development,
labor rights in the Gulf,
united arab emirates
2:58 PM
I read on the Foreign Policy Blog that several guest workers in Dubai were fired via a text message-and all this just in time for the Eid holidays!
``It was early morning when I received a text message from my office, Al-Hamid, telling me that I need not bother returning to Dubai. My contract has been discontinued and my work permit stands terminated. It said my dues will be sent through post and my belongings will be duly returned.''
Another 64 workers received their notification in the same way. Although there is some criticism that Dubai is being unfairly villified, beated down and targeted, especially in the wake of its financial troubles with Dubaiworld, this kind of treatment affirms that the city and its companies, are continuing to do a fair amount of beating down themselves. The act of sending an SMS as a seemingly adequate termination only reinforces the high lack of accountability and transparency on behalf of the Dubai economy in affronting the crisis and the unequal playing field of non-negotiation with low-income migrant workers, thats seems to be instutionalized be it in times of growth or contraction.
financial crisis and development,
hapiness economics
5:04 PM
Speaking at the last G20 summit, Sarkozy has adopted measures of happiness and joie de vivre into its calculations on how to measure France's progress. His change of heart comes after receiving recommendations from development economists Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen.
However, some say that this kind of measurement might be aimed at making France, a country reknowned for its 35 hour work week,pleasant work/life balance and fanciful cuisine, look better than cold statistics would make it out to be.
According to the Telegraph:
He said: "A great revolution is waiting for us. For years, people said that finance was a formidable creator of wealth, only to discover one day that it accumulated so many risks that the world almost plunged into chaos.'
"The crisis doesn't only make us free to imagine other models, another future, another world. It obliges us to do so."
When the measures are adopted, France will move a step closer to the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, currently the only country in the world which puts happiness at the heart of government policy.
In Bhutan, the government must consider every policy for its impact on "Gross National Happiness". This has led to a ban on advertising, wrestling channels, plastic bags and traffic lights.
Mr Sarkozy told a packed hall at Paris' Sorbonne university the world could have predicted last year's economic crisis if it had looked at happiness, wellbeing and sustainability.
The French government is now planning to include many of the "happiness" indicators in its regular growth statistics.
financial crisis and development,
globalization,
poetry
2:14 PM
Global Policy Innovations announces the Spring 2009 Poetry Contest.
Theme: Spring is a time of renewal, something that is clearly needed in the global economy in 2009. Carnegie Council'sPolicy Innovations invites you to write a poem that captures this time of growth and send it to us. What do innovations, ethics, and globalization mean to you personally? Paint a moment of emotion—an instant of transformation, personal or political—illustrating humanitarian heroics or global solidarity. We will select a handful of winning poems and publish them in a special issue later this spring. Feel free to send us your poem through email, as Twitter #haiku, or viaFacebook.
Deadline: April 15, 2009
Length: 10 lines or less
Original Work: All work must be original and unpublished reflections on the contest theme.
Publishing: The winning submissions will be published under a Creative Commons license on the Policy Innovations website.
Prize: Literary fame! Policy Innovations is a nonprofit, noncommercial global commons for ideas on crafting a fairer globalization. As such we run no advertisements and rely on thoughtful and generous readers and writers such as you.
Contact: info@policyinnovations.org
financial crisis and development,
slum solutions,
UN-HABITAT
10:26 PM
"Even during the worst financial crisis in eighty years, it is still possible to provide finance for houses for the poor, participants at the 22nd Session of the Governing Council of UN-HABITAT concluded on Monday.
'It is possible to continue providing finances for these people because they have a strong track record worldwide in repaying loans given to them,” said Irene Vance, a leading expert in housing finance.'"...(for full press release, click here)
Posts
