Corruption is rampant in 60 countries, and the public sector is plagued by bribery, says Transparency International. Sixty of the world's countries are plagued by rampant corruption, defined as a score of less than three on the annual index compiled b… more »

A rigged dialogue with society THE European Commission knows it has an image problem. To try to fix things, it is creating the new post of commissioner in charge of communications. Margot Wallstrom, previously responsible for the environment, promises… more »

Growth in emerging economies is running at its fastest for at least three decades. Can the pace be maintained? THE old “third world” is knocking spots off the rich world when it comes to economic growth. The International Monetary Fund… more »

As import quotas go away, the world's textile industry will go through important changes, especially for central American countries, who will become more vulnerable to their Asian counterparts. THE biggest transformation in a generation of the wor… more »

The Urban Audit collects information on the living conditions in 258 large and medium-sized cities within the European Union and the candidate countries (EU27). This results in an overview of the local perceptions of quality of life in those cities.… more »

Amazingly, China already has labour shortages in some regions, such as the Guangdong one. Here is a article from The Economist written in Dongguan, a city I used to work in while we were still living in Hong Kong... Actually, other Asian countries (e.g.… more »