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The author in this piece describes the delicate balance a company must find between globalization and localization. It goes on to explain how companies like Spotify have found this balance by going global, but changing themselves slightly to fit the specific populations needs that they are expanding to. By correctly striking this balance companies are able to find the most success. This reminded me of our discussion in class on the "Drive to Maturity" stage of developement.

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As globalization starts becoming the norm for multinational companies and startups alike, a new trend of localization has started to emerge. This trend, known as glocalization, involves taking a semi-localized approach to your already global brand.

Quite a few companies take a narrow view of localization by focusing on hiring local talent but keeping decision making centralized - for example, eBay in China. In 2003, eBay bought a local auction site run by expats. However, by 2007, it closed up shop in China for failing to gel with demands and expectations of local consumers. The reason, as I see it: Lack of localization.

This case study has been examined extensively, and while significant tectonic shifts have taken place, companies still seem to be more focused on globalization over localization. The need for a nuanced localization strategy is paramount.
The Basics: Approaching Localization
In the most perfect world, every company would localize every market while maintaining the essence of the global brand. But since that isn't practical, the first focus should be on which particular market needs to be addressed. The second step is to understand the audience that needs to be targeted.

For example, if a company's goal is to enter India, then it needs to decide which particular audience it wants to attract. Just focusing on millennials, for instance, won't work, because that's too big a population. In addition, while English is widely spoken across India, people in different regions have different variations of their spoken English. And while India loves Bollywood and cricket, just picking any celebrity for a product endorsement won't work because people in different regions may react differently to the same celebrity.
Three Companies Leading The Localization Strategy
1. Spotify

Spotify is a great example of a Western company that has entered Asia with a fine-tuned balance between localization and globalization. While Spotify hasn't yet released any numbers, a recent report showed that at least two out of every five Singaporeans with access to the internet are streaming on Spotify, making it the third-largest radio station by weekly reach.

In addition, when Singapore was affected by smoke from Indonesia's forest fires, Spotify created a special playlist " Hazed and Confused" featuring tracks like "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5. This tongue-in-cheek approach was very well received, giving Spotify generous social shares among local listeners.
2. Xiaomi
Just because a company is based in one market in Asia doesn't mean that they don't need to localize for other markets. So, this example falls within the category of "Asian companies expanding in other parts of Asia."

For instance, Xiaomi is among the largest smartphone makers in China, and it has also broken through in India. The reason for this is Xiaomi's glocal strategy: Xiaomi's phones are affordable compared to other top brands, making it already appealing to the Indian market. It also holds flash sales on sites like Flipkart and Amazon India, making it extremely desirable for Indian consumers and tapping into the psyche of getting the best deal possible.
3.) Paytm
While it is true that Asia is much more nuanced than some Western markets, companies that originated in Asia face the challenge of moving away from the localization trap to appeal to Western markets. In this category of "Asian companies expanding West," Paytm is a great example of Western localization done right. Last November, Patym Canada stood as one of the top financial apps on both the Google Play Store and Apple's App Store in Canada.

That's because it has made regular chores exciting and fun for local Canadians. The app offers an easy and intuitive way to pay bills online and receive rewards from local companies.
Bonus Example For Startups
Gyaan is an India-based daily financial newsletter that breaks down movements in the Indian stock market in a jargon-free, localized manner. Gyaan has been able to facilitate this traction simply by implementing a pure content localization strategy.

With this article, my goal was to cover the importance of the paradigm shifts taking place in localization for companies trying to enter Asia. With this information, I hope to be able to make a small, positive impact on this thought process.

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Debunking Glocal: A Localized, Global Strategy For Expansion

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As globalization starts becoming the norm for multinational companies and startups alike, a new trend of localization has started to emerge. This trend, known as glocalization, involves taking a semi-localized approach to your already global brand. Quite a few companies take a narrow view of localization by focusing on hiring local talent but keeping decision making centralized - for example, eBay in China.

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This article explains that China opening up its borders to trade and implementing new reforms has led to economic globalization that is benefiting the whole world. It goes on to explain that we are moving from a rules based trading system to a system based on the force of power. This new type of system is not helpful towards advancing Globalization, but nonetheless, China has found a way to stay ahead of this learning curve. This relates to our discussion of how China has successfully become globalized and continues to dominate in many areas of globalization.

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Messages from the Understanding China Conference that closed Sunday show that China's reform and opening-up have delivered tangible benefits to the world and contributed to a new round of economic globalization.

The event, held in Guangzhou, capital of south China's economic powerhouse of Guangdong Province, brought in-depth discussions on "New Globalization and China's New Round of Reform and Opening Up."

About 600 officials, strategists, scholars and entrepreneurs from 17 countries and regions, as well as representatives of international organizations, participated in the three-day event.

ECONOMIC GLOBALIZATION

The international trading system that has made possible the extension and expansion of the opportunities of globalization is "under severe stress," said Ernesto Zedillo, former president of Mexico, at the opening ceremony.

"We are moving rapidly from a rules-based system into a system based on the force of power. And that, in other words, means the law of the jungle, which is detrimental for globalization," he said.

Against the backdrop of the twists and turns of economic globalization, China's economy has shown sufficient resilience and great potential.

China's GDP expanded 6.2 percent year on year in the first three quarters of 2019 to about 69.78 trillion yuan (about 9.88 trillion U.S. dollars), according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

During the conference, participants were optimistic about China's development prospects.

"Globalization and China's own policies have been highly complementary and mutually beneficial. We need to recognize this to fully understand China's commitment to globalization and the new round of the reform and opening up today," said Li Yong, director-general of the UN Industrial Development Organization.

China has contributed a lot to globalization, said Martin Jacques, a senior fellow of the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, adding that one of China's basic views on globalization is inclusiveness, which allows China to better integrate into the world economy.

"From China-Africa cooperation to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), we can see China's active integration into the world economy," he said.

REFORM AND OPENING-UP

With nearly 1.4 billion people, China has always been a good example of an open economy, as well as a defender and a promoter of globalization.

"China's development made by its reform and opening-up policy is inseparable from and mutually reinforcing with the process of globalization," said Zheng Bijian, chairman of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy.

"The current era calls for a new framework of economic globalization and China will contribute to the world economy through opening-up," he said.

China has signed documents with more than 160 countries and international organizations on B&R cooperation, which is a good example of China's opening-up determination.

"The initiative has linked China extensively with its neighbors," said Kishore Mahbubani, a distinguished fellow at the Asia Research Institute of the National University of Singapore (NUS).

With strengthened cooperation, more economic dividends will be seen in B&R countries, he added.

From 2013 to 2018, the trade volume between China and other countries along the B&R surpassed 6 trillion U.S. dollars and China's investment in those countries exceeded 90 billion dollars.

"Though proposed by China, the opportunities and achievements brought by the BRI are shared by the world," said Zhao Ai, executive vice president of the China Society of Economic Reform.

"The cooperation among B&R countries has opened up new space for world economic growth, built a new platform for international trade and investment and contributed to the improvement of the global governance system," he said.

China has lifted 800 million people out of poverty, which is a remarkable miracle and has made great contributions to the world, said Professor Zheng Yongnian with the East Asian Institute of the NUS.

China has begun to move from quantitative economic growth to qualitative economic development, taking opportunities in the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area while actively promoting the new round of economic globalization, Zheng added.
Source: Xinhua

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China's reform, opening-up contribute to economic globalization

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Messages from the Understanding China Conference that closed Sunday show that China's reform and opening-up have delivered tangible benefits to the world and contributed to a new round of economic globalization. The event, held in Guangzhou, capital of south China's economic powerhouse of Guangdong Province, brought in-depth discussions on "New Globalization and China's New Round of Reform and Opening Up."

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The Pope recently gave a speech telling young people in Thailand and around the world that they should pay close intention to their culture and learn all the traditions included in it. He believes that Globalization has lead to more and more people having the same culture instead of individual cultures. This reminds me of our discussion on Globalization, more specifically how it can bring people together in a way, whether or not the Pope appreciates it or not.

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BANGKOK (Reuters) - Pope Francis paid tribute on Friday to Catholics in Thailand who suffered or were killed for their faith in the past and urged today's Thais not to consider Christianity a "foreign" religion.

The pope was on his last full day of a visit to Thailand, where the dominant culture is closely tied to Buddhism, although the Catholic minority of fewer than 1% were generally treated well in modern times.

On Friday, Francis traveled to Wat Roman, a mostly Catholic area on the outskirts of the bustling capital of Bangkok.

The pope visited a modern sanctuary built in honor of Nicholas Bunkerd Kitbamrung, a Thai priest who died in 1944 and is considered a martyr.

The son of Christian converts from Buddhism, he was arrested for ringing a church bell during a period dominated by an anti-Western government suspicious of foreign influences, such as the French colonial powers in neighboring countries.

The priest was sentenced to 15 years in prison and died of tuberculosis in a hospital where he was treated badly and denied proper care because he was Catholic.

In a talk to priests and nuns gathered in the Church, Francis expressed his gratitude to those he said had offered the "silent martyrdom of fidelity and daily commitment" in the past.

In 1940, seven Catholics, including three teenage girls, were killed by Thai police in the northeastern province of Nakhon Phanom. Pope John Paul II later declared them martyrs.

The World War Two period and other spells of persecution are considered aberrations and today relations between Buddhists and Catholics are generally very good.

During the reign of Thailand's King Narai 350 years ago, the Vatican formally established its "Mission de Siam".

Although missionaries failed to achieve mass conversions, they were largely tolerated by the Buddhist majority and particularly the royal court.

THAI FACE ON CATHOLICISM

Since the start of his pontificate in 2013, Francis has preached that the Church should grow by attraction and not by proselytizing, or conversion campaigns.

This has provoked criticism from some conservatives who favor an aggressive approach and largely oppose what is known as "inculturation," or adapting Church teachings to local culture.

Francis urged priests and nuns to find more ways to talk about their religion in local terms, saying he had learned "with some pain, that for many people, Christianity is a foreign faith, a religion for foreigners".

He added, "Let us give faith a Thai face and flesh, which involves much more than making translations."

Meeting Thai bishops in the same shrine complex later, Francis once again talked about issues such as human trafficking and exploitation.

On Thursday he condemned the exploitation of women and children for prostitution in Thailand, which is notorious for its sex tourism, saying the violence, abuse and enslavement they suffer are evils to be uprooted.

Francis was scheduled to meet leaders of other religions and celebrate a Mass in Bangkok's Assumption Cathedral on Friday afternoon, before leaving on Saturday for Japan.

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Pope urges Thais not to see Christianity as 'foreign'

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BANGKOK (Reuters) - Pope Francis paid tribute on Friday to Catholics in Thailand who suffered or were killed for their faith in the past and urged today's Thais not to consider Christianity a "foreign" religion.

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In this piece, the author explores the importance of finding individuals in poverty jobs. When people do not have proper resource to make money they are at a higher risk of trafficking. Although Globalization has had many positive effects, this has to be one of the most negative consequences. This topic is closely related to the women who worked in the Maquiladoras. Although the conditions were horrible, they rather work there than be trafficked into any form of slavery.

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The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Urmila Bhoola, explained that over 40 million people are enslaved around the world, a quarter of them children. Due to problems of environmental degradation, migration and shifting demographics, the scourge of modern-day slavery is expected to grow.

Over 60 percent of those in forced labour work in the private sector, Ms. Bhoola said, with women and girls disproportionately affected. Of the female victims involved in forced labour, 98 percent have experienced sexual violence.

Global estimates from the International Labour Organization (ILO) indicate that 24.9 million people are in forced labour situations worldwide, and 15.4 million live in forced marriages.

This sort of trend, "must serve as a wakeup call," Ms. Bhoola said, highlighting that the astounding statistics come four years after States committed to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with relevant targets 5.2 and 8.7 aimed at stamping out trafficking, ending violence against women, and eradicating modern slavery.

The problem is exacerbated by the pressing climate conflict of our time. "In wake of climate change, people may lose their livelihoods, young people who don't have access to decent work may migrate through unsafe channels and changes in the world of work, such as automation, may push already vulnerable people out of their jobs," all of which could increase people's vulnerability to slavery, the expert explained.

Even for those who escape, life for survivors is often difficult. Investigations by the NGO Human Rights Watch, highlight how even victims who manage to extricate themselves, can return home to the same desperate circumstances that made them vulnerable to begin with, but now facing stigma or blame.

Beyond these tragic realities for individuals, "slavery leads to increased public health costs, productivity losses, negative environmental externalities and lost income," Ms. Bhoola added, urging for States and business to "act now."

"We cannot afford to stand by while more and people are driven into forced labour, servile marriage or child labour," she said.

Looking forward, the UN expert highlighted that for youth approaching working age, the situation is more dire - "By 2030, some 85 percent of the more than 25 million young people entering the labour force globally will be in developing and emerging countries," she noted. "Their perspectives to access jobs offering decent work will determine their level of vulnerability to exploitation, including slavery."

To prepare for this, "it is imperative" anti-slavery efforts are "systematic, scientific, strategic, sustainable, survivor-informed, and smart" she maintained.

Current efforts to end slavery are falling short and States and businesses "must take more decisive action to end slavery," Ms. Bhoola concluded. This must be done "by committing more resources to this effort and by adopting and implementing public policies which address contemporary forms of slavery effectively."

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Scourge of slavery still claims 40 million victims worldwide, 'must serve as a wakeup call'

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The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, Urmila Bhoola, explained that over 40 million people are enslaved around the world, a quarter of them children. Due to problems of environmental degradation, migration and shifting demographics, the scourge of modern-day slavery is expected to grow.

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This article explains how after a devastating hurricane in the Bahamas, the UN was able to give aid and help the restoration efforts. In class we discussed if the UN is still needed as well as looked at what they are doing for the world today. This article shows that the UN is still needed and that they are still able to help people.

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The funding will support IOM operations in areas such as camp coordination and management, provision of shelter and non-food items, and emergency evacuations through April 2020.

"Hurricane Dorian caused widespread devastation on the islands of Abaco, from Marsh Harbour to the North, and Grand Bahama; from Pelican Point east to McLean's Town; leaving behind a trail of destroyed infrastructure, clogged with debris from devastated houses, domestic goods, vehicles and natural debris like trees and mangroves, uprooted by the storm surge," said IOM officer, Nazif Aliu.

Hurricane Dorian hit The Bahamas on 1 September. In addition to the destruction, the Category 5 storm caused 61 deaths while more than 600 people are still missing.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited the country shortly afterwards, describing the disaster as " Category Hell ".

IOM has established two offices in The Bahamas-one in the capital, Nassau, and the other on Abaco-with a third planned for Grand Bahama.

The organization is already supporting the country through grants from the United States and the UN Central Emergency Relief Fund, representing nearly $2 million of the appeal.

The funding has allowed IOM to begin debris removal in Abaco, in partnership with the NGO Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE).

"We are removing over 100 cubic meters of debris daily. This operation is coordinated with the government of The Bahamas, through its emergency response agency NEMA, which is leading the organized planning of debris removal", said Mr. Aliu, who is based in Abaco.

The Bahamian authorities have also formally requested IOM to help relocate citizens stranded in the United States after their evacuation following Hurricane Dorian.

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UN migration agency launches $10 million appeal to support hurricane recovery in The Bahamas

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The funding will support IOM operations in areas such as camp coordination and management, provision of shelter and non-food items, and emergency evacuations through April 2020.

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The author from this piece explains  how our incapable president is. Although you cannot tax random products to make whole countries do what you want them to, he believes that you can. This way of doing things is leading to no change on their part and we must find a new way to get what we want. This relates to our class because trading is a major part of globalization.

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Trump is losing the trade war with China

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China still champions state-led, rather than market-led, capitalism. It has no rule of law, and the government suffuses the economy such that the distinction between state-owned enterprises and purportedly private-sector firms is fuzzy. A country that has a "13th Five-Year Plan for Science and Technology" is probably not robustly free market.

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The main point of this article is how the author believes that Globalization has and is coming to an end due to different countries wanting to look out for their own interests instead of supplying to the needs of others. This related to the class in that, if this is true then Globalization will soon be history class.

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Globalization has peaked, and there is a significant and underappreciated risk that the world will start to de-globalize over the coming years.

The latest wave of globalization, which began after the end of the Cold War and gathered pace throughout the 1990s and 2000s, has been a crucial influence on economic developments over the past 30 years. It has boosted economic growth, particularly in emerging markets, and has helped to lower both inflation and real interest rates in the developed world.

Globalization has also had a profound effect on how the proceeds of growth have been distributed - the integration of several billion workers into the global economy has pushed down labor's share of income and pushed up the share flowing to company profits. The latter has provided an important prop to global equity markets, but the former has contributed to the Trumpian backlash to globalization over the past couple of years.

One key point to emphasize is that the current wave of globalization appears to have hit a wall well before the current trade war began. Trade of goods and services, as well as cross-border capital flows, rose sharply as a share of global GDP throughout the 1990s and 2000s but then leveled off from around 2010.

It is possible that this leveling off is just a temporary hiatus and that an unforeseen technological breakthrough will trigger a new wave of globalization. But such waves are rare.

There are several reasons - even before we consider the trade war - why globalization may have peaked. For starters, most economies are now extremely open and there are no new major countries left to integrate into the global economy. What's more, new technologies have made it less attractive for firms to maintain large and complex supply chains. Also, governments have increasingly started to question the benefits of some aspects of the financial liberalization that has been a central feature of the most recent wave of globalization. China, in particular, is unlikely to open its capital markets significantly.

Read: These two maps show how the trade war with China is hurting 'Trump country'

Reaching "peak" globalization is not necessarily a cause for alarm for the world economy. On the contrary, the technological developments that are partly driving these trends will boost productivity growth and widen consumer choice. That said, given that the most common development path begins with labor-intensive manufacturing in sectors such as textiles, life for the poorest countries that have yet to gain a foothold on the development ladder will become more difficult. This will add to the structural headwinds already facing emerging markets.

Moreover, a more malign form of policy-driven de-globalization - where cross-border trade and capital flows decline as a share of GDP - is looking increasingly likely. One of the key lessons from history is that it has been policy - rather than technology - that has caused globalization to roll back.

The current most likely course of policy rollback is the trade war between the U.S. and China. The trade war, in and of itself, is not actually that big a deal, given that trade between the U.S. and China accounts for only 3% of total world trade. But it is a symptom of more fundamental strains in the relationship between China and the West. China's emergence as a strategic competitor means that some form of push-back was inevitable, whoever the U.S. president happened to be.

What's more, there is a risk that the trade war is the start of a broader backlash against globalization that goes beyond just the U.S. and China. After all, globalization has undermined the power of national governments and been blamed for rising inequality, multinational tax avoidance and unwanted migration.

While the likelihood of a period of de-globalization is underappreciated, it is as yet unclear as to the exact form that this could take. At one end of the spectrum, we could see a mild form of regionalization, in which production is clustered in neighboring countries rather than globalized. At the other end of the spectrum, the world could spilt into competing blocs (for example, one led by the U.S. and another led by China). In between, we could see the growing imposition of tit-for-tat tariffs by individual countries.

In most scenarios, the effects on the world economy as a whole would be negative, but manageable. A modest degree of regionalization would not be a big problem given that a lot of trade already takes place between neighboring countries, and regions would probably be big enough to sustain companies that achieve maximum economies of scale.

Likewise, the implications of a tit-for-tat trade war for global growth over the next decade or so would probably be small compared to the much larger challenges posed by demographics, stubbornly low productivity growth and the impotence of monetary policy.

However, the one de-globalization scenario that is especially concerning is a deep split between China- and U.S.-led economic blocs. Admittedly, it seems unlikely that trade and investment flows between the West and China dry up completely, in a repeat of the Cold War between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union. But a mix of restrictions on trade in specific sectors and products seems likely, as does some sort of technological iron curtain. Were this to happen, it would have a more deleterious effect on global growth, not to mention geopolitical stability.

Neil Shearing is group chief economist at independent economic research firm Capital Economics.

Read: Ray Dalio: U.S. may go further than just cutting capital flows to China

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The end of globalization is here - now investors need to prepare for what's next

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Globalization has peaked, and there is a significant and underappreciated risk that the world will start to de-globalize over the coming years. The latest wave of globalization, which began after the end of the Cold War and gathered pace throughout the 1990s and 2000s, has been a crucial influence on economic developments over the past 30 years.

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In this article it discusses how the militarization at the border has made more of a conflict between what the U.S wants from Mexico (Cheap Labor) and what its getting (an increase of Mexicans at the border that the government feels the need to monitor.)
This ties into the video that we watched in class about the Mexican women working in these conditions. .

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On August 5, 2019, the Mexican federal government and INDEX, the maquiladora business association, inaugurated the "Leona Vicario" migrant center in Ciudad Juárez. Housed in a former maquiladora- often foreign-run, export-led manufacturing plants -the center is the first of several that will be opened along the northern Mexican border to serve individuals and families that the United States has sent back to Mexico to pursue their asylum claims under the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" program. Policies like this one have turned Mexican border cities into a " waiting room" for thousands of migrants arriving to cross into the United States. According to government press releases, the new center will more efficiently connect these migrants, mainly from Central American countries like El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala, with some of the almost 50,000 vacancies in the maquiladora manufacturing sector along Mexico's northern border.

Federal programs like this one, designed to integrate a migrant workforce into the industrial labor markets of northern Mexican border cities, must be understood alongside the current anti-migrant policies supported by both the Trump and López Obrador administrations, as well as the new trade agenda under the terms of the renegotiated NAFTA-the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)-which is poised to restructure economic relationships in North American. In lieu of efforts to pursue significant wage increases and better working conditions, we are instead witnessing a joint effort between the U.S. and Mexican governments to deepen labor precarity along the border.

Currently, anti-migrant policies and the militarization of the U.S.-Mexico border are integral to maintaining a low-wage labor force in northern Mexican border cities. Yet the low wages of maquiladora assembly-line workers have long been key to the competitiveness of Ciudad Juárez in a restructuring global economy. So if we turn to two moments in the U.S.-Mexico border's history of economic development, we can clearly visualize the long-term relationship between the border's economic competitiveness-rooted in the employment of vulnerable migrants in industrial jobs-and the concurrent criminalization of these very same migrants.

"Mexico exports goods, not people"

The industrial development of northern Mexico in the 1960s turned cities such as Ciudad Juárez and Tijuana into centers for the labor-intensive, manual assembly of goods for export. In its early days, the maquiladora was framed as a way to employ the millions of out-of-work former braceros who were returned to Mexico after the agricultural guest worker Bracero Program was cancelled in 1964. In reality, low-wage industrial jobs were filled by thousands of young women, migrating en masse from rural communities in northern Mexican border states. Yet even as the early industrial development of Mexico's northern border depended on the labor of rural Mexican migrants, it was also accompanied by U.S. policies that resulted in the simultaneous restriction, increased control over, and criminalization of migratory flows from Mexico and Latin America to the United States. For example, Operation Interception in 1969, which increased law enforcement staffing along the U.S.-Mexico border and therefore made it harder to cross, was an early example of border militarization. These policies and initiatives did not stop Mexican migrants from crossing into the United States in search of work, but rather served to increase their vulnerability, and to lower the value of their labor on both sides of the border. Starting in the 1960s, these kinds of policies-in support of export production and border militarization-would tie Mexico's economic "competitiveness" to a low-wage export strategy: one which was deeply entangled with, and even dependent on, the United States.

The signing of NAFTA in 1994 expanded the viability of the maquiladora industry. By 2000, the sector would generate 48 percent of Mexico's exports. More importantly, it served to deepen uneven economic and political relationships between Mexico and the United States. According to Dancing on Quicksand: A Retrospective on NAFTA on the Eve of its Replacement by James Cypher and Mateo Crossa, NAFTA was an investment project for the United States rather than a "free trade" deal, increasing U.S. foreign direct investment in Mexico, growing the number of U.S.-owned plants, and facilitating the export of goods, mainly to U.S. markets. While these reforms accelerated the flows of goods and capital, they were accompanied by policies and practices that would reduce the mobility of ordinary people. Then-Mexican president Carlos Salinas famously opined that the goal of implementing NAFTA was to " export goods and not people."

Like in its early days, the competitiveness of the maquiladora continued to be rooted in low-cost migrant labor. NAFTA, in concert with economic reforms pursued by the neoliberal regime of President Salinas, killed agricultural production and increased economic hardship. As a result, workers left rural communities of southern states such as Oaxaca, Chiapas, Puebla, and Veracruz to find work in the maquiladoras of northern cities, or to try and make it to the United States. The U.S. government responded to the increased migratory pressures wrought by trade deals and economic restructuring in Mexico by developing restrictive immigration reforms- the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act-which further criminalized migrants. It also militarized the border-beginning border wall construction between Tijuana and San Diego-and implemented initiatives like Operation Gatekeeper, which increased technological surveillance and the number of border patrol agents deployed on the ground, in order to deter migrants from crossing. Like in earlier decades, these policies had little effect in reducing migration to the United States, but instead only increased the vulnerability of migrants.

Deepening the Vulnerability of Migrant Labor

Since its inception, the Trump administration has implemented new policies and practices that further criminalize migrants-both those arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border and those living in the United States-and that continue to militarize border communities. Simultaneously, it has spearheaded an effort to revitalize NAFTA in the form of the USCMA, a trade agreement that mainly seems designed to protect the United States from global competition. The deal's impact on Mexico's industrial development is unclear, but the maquiladora industry will likely continue to grow as it becomes increasingly valuable to companies looking to reduce production costs, especially as costs go up elsewhere in the supply chain. Despite narratives of industrial upgrading, after almost 60 years of economic development along the border, the economic competitiveness of the maquiladora continues to be tied to low-wage labor. For example, even with the recent doubling of the minimum wage, wages for assembly-line workers in Ciudad Juárez are some of the lowest in Mexico.

The López Obrador administration is cooperating in support of the Trump administration's hardline approach to both immigration and trade, despite campaigning on a pro-migrant platform. "What we want," according to López Obrador in June 2019, "is to organize migratory flows and provide alternative employment options, while at the same time maintaining good relations with the U.S. government and avoiding a trade war."

Critics decry that the Mexican government's policies are not designed to protect migrants, and instead are continuing earlier approaches of treating migration as a national security problem that needs to be solved with border militarization. In the time since he took office, López Obrador's administration has increased the amount of troops on the border and deployed a new national guard tasked with curbing migration. Despite these efforts, acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner Mark Morgan recently said that although "meaningful and unprecedented steps" to stop migrants passing through Mexico have been taken, the Mexican government still " needs to do more."

In the months since the United States instituted the "Remain in Mexico" policy, the government has sent more than 15,000 people to Ciudad Juárez. Migrants face violence and lack access to both shelter and legal council. According to a migrant from Honduras, "I would rather be detained, and put into prison in the United States, than stay in Mexico." Recently, advocates in El Paso told us that the timeline for pursuing an asylum claim under "Remain in Mexico," is deeply uncertain, but could take up to two years. Against this backdrop, the increasing impossibility of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border northwards means that asylum seekers from Central America may become the next vulnerable, semi-permanent migrant population that the maquiladora industry will use to fill vacancies as demand increases. López Obrador has also floated projects that would integrate migrants into planned mega-projects in southern Mexico.

Even with the new federal initiative to set up migrant shelters along the border, and pre-existing coordination with the maquiladora industry, connecting migrants with job opportunities has been slow. In response, the national president of INDEX, Luis Aguirre Lang, explained that in the coming months, efforts to promote vacancies for Central American migrants who have a work permit in Mexico will intensify, citing the benefits of putting migrants to work in maquiladoras. "We are working with the Ministry of Labor to create a precise strategy for all Central American migrants who are stranded in border municipalities. Remember, our industry has been strengthened by this type of phenomena."

The coordination between the government and the private sector may also be part of an effort to increase control over maquiladora workers, a control which has been challenged by strong labor mobilizations in Ciudad Juárez and Matamoros in recent years. In any case, it is clear that the Leona Vicario Center, and others like it that will be opened along the border, is a small part of an ongoing effort to put migrants to work in northern Mexican border cities.

More than half a century has passed since the birth of the maquiladora put Ciudad Juárez on the map as a center of manufacturing in the global economy. In 2019, we are witnessing the inaugural stage of a new cycle in the long-standing relationship between this model of economic development-one predicated on the competitiveness of low-cost migrant labor and anti-migrant policies. Like NAFTA, the USMCA makes little reference to immigration reform or worker mobility. While not surprising, it offers little hope for future positive revisions. In concert with recent trade and labor policies, the current slew of anti-migrant initiatives-and efforts to further militarize border communities-only deepen the precarity and immobility of both migrants and border residents.
Nina Ebner is a PhD candidate in the Geography department at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests lie at the intersection of feminist political economy, critical development, and border studies. Nina is doing doctoral research on economic development and labor market participation on the US-Mexico border, currently based in El Paso/Ciudad Juárez. She believes strongly in the importance of collaborative research, and is involved with grassroots efforts to end migrant detention, and to create more sustainable economic futures for border residents. Mateo Crossa is a PhD candidate in Latin American Studies at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and candidate in Development Studies at Autonomous University of Zacatecas (UAZ). His research interest is focused mainly in the study of labor and maquiladora industry in Central America and Mexico through the lens of critical Latin American political economy. Among his publications stands the book Honduras: maquilando subdesarrollo en la mundialización (Honduras: Manufacturing Underdevelopment in Globalization). He has also participated in multiple film projects such as the documentary film Made Honduras that portrays the life and labor rights organization of maquiladora workers in Honduras.

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Maquiladoras and the Exploitation of Migrants on the Border

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On August 5, 2019, the Mexican federal government and INDEX, the maquiladora business association, inaugurated the "Leona Vicario" migrant center in Ciudad Juárez. Housed in a former maquiladora- often foreign-run, export-led manufacturing plants -the center is the first of several that will be opened along the northern Mexican border to serve individuals and families that the United States has sent back to Mexico to pursue their asylum claims under the Trump administration's "Remain in Mexico" program.

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In class we learned that GDP is not a good measure of happiness in a country, but in this article it seems to be improving the outlook of citizens. In Wales, construction, transportation and storage improvements have increased GDP. Since GDP does not  include jobs such as childcare and housework, there is no way of knowing if these jobs are also helping the economy function better, but there has been an increase in families from 17.7 million in 2008 to now 19.1 million. .

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A major indicator of the strength of the economy has been published for Wales for the first time.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the value of goods and services produced, rose 0.3% in the last quarter of 2018.

GDP estimates the size of and growth in the economy.

Construction was the strongest sector in 2018 and drove the growth in Wales, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Quarterly estimates are now available for Wales, as well as nine English regions.

Education, transport and storage also contributed to Welsh growth in the period.

ONS said the new indicators give a "unique insight" into the economic fortunes of Wales and each region of England.

The figures - in use since the 1940s in the UK - have been broken down for Scotland since 2002, while Northern Ireland has published its own index of economic indicators since 2013.

Read more: What exactly is GDP and what does it measure?

Does GDP tell the whole economic story?

Wales 'least productive' part of UK

They also include breakdowns for different Welsh industries, by pulling together VAT returns from 70,000 companies.

Previously, they surveyed 3,000 Welsh businesses to produce an annual barometer.

It also means we can compare how the Welsh economy - and different sectors - are performing compared with regions of England, such as the West Midlands and the north east, as well as the UK as a whole.

But it does not give a breakdown in Wales for how different parts of the country are doing - or measure the work done by the likes of people caring for family members.
Land supply problem
Of the main industrial sectors, construction sector was the main driver of GDP within Wales in the last quarter of 2018 - a rise of 3.3% - followed by the services sector at 0.09 percentage points.

MacBryde Homes, based in St Asaph, Denbighshire, has been a developer for nearly 35 years - and was listed 14th in the Fast Growth 50 index in 2018.

Managing director Gwyn Jones said: "Mortgage rates are excellent, banks are lending and evidently there's a need for housing.

"The problem we have is just getting enough supply of land. If we can't get more land, we can't grow further."

Mr Jones said it is interesting and useful to see how Welsh GDP compares to the UK as a whole although he will continue to look at more detailed market statistics too.

"It's important to benchmark ourselves against Britain as a whole," he said. "We have a Welsh Government - and our economy needs to be performing to the same level, if not better than our neighbours."
'What is going on is unprecedented'
Any decline in manufacturing hits Wales more severely than the UK as a whole because it represents a larger proportion of the economy (18%) and is therefore more valuable in terms of jobs and productivity.

But its output fell by 0.6% in the final quarter of last year, according to these experimental ONS figures.

Gareth Jenkins, managing director of engineering company FSG Tool and Die in Llantrisant, Rhondda Cynon Taf, said he has not known so much uncertainty in 40 years in business.

FSG works with a wide range of industries, including food and drink, pharmaceuticals and automotive, providing machines that make plastic yogurt pots, drinks cans and gearboxes.

Half its exports are in Europe, but it also trades with Bolivia, Iran, Iraq and China.

"It will be interesting to see the numbers," said Mr Jenkins of the GDP figures.

"The last three months have been particularly challenging, around the global trade situation and Brexit uncertainty. What is going on is unprecedented."

He is worried about a potential no-deal Brexit and that trade arrangements will be complicated to negotiate.

"Generally trade in the EU is a joy, because it's so simple, a phone call, a handshake and it's done. But that's changing - and not for the better."

Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns said: "These very strong figures are testament to the hard-working people in our communities who continue to capitalise on the opportunities created for economic growth by the UK government's modern industrial strategy and export strategy".
How does Wales compare?
Only four nations and regions showed positive growth in the period - and Wales was second highest behind south-east England.

Rob Kent-Smith, head of GDP at the ONS, said: "It's faster than the UK as a whole - and the fastest of the four countries of the UK. We'd always advise some caution about one period's figures but when we also look over the 12 months we see Wales doing better too."

The ONS said the measures were part of its plans to use new data sources to produce "better quality, faster and more detailed statistics that decision-makers need for a modern economy".

Meanwhile, separate quarterly trade statistics show the value of exports for Wales for the year ending in June was £17.7bn, up 6.8% compared with the same period the previous year.

Germany continued to be the top export destination, while the EU accounted for more than 60% of exports from Wales, a higher proportion than the UK as a whole.

Exports to the USA are up 23.4% compared to the previous year and exports to Ireland - worth £1.7bn - have risen 50%.

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Construction drives Wales economic growth

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A major indicator of the strength of the economy has been published for Wales for the first time. Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the value of goods and services produced, rose 0.3% in the last quarter of 2018. GDP estimates the size of and growth in the economy.

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This article discusses Greece and how it is on the up and up after being devastated by the national debt crisis nine years ago. This article reminded me of the video we watched in class on Jamaica. In Jamaica the IMF worked very well, in Greece, and has yet to work as well for Jamaica. This makes me wonder if Jamaica had just as many foreigners buying property, maybe they too could bounce back the way that Greece has.

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This seven-bedroom, four-bathroom home is in Plaka, a fishing village on the northwestern coast of Crete, the largest and most populous of the Greek islands. The property, known as Villa Ioanna, sits on a sloping, 1.23-acre lot near several olive groves and overlooks Souda Bay and the Mediterranean Sea.

Built in 1994 and clad in whitewashed concrete, the 2,690-square-foot, two-story house offers traditional Greek design, with archways throughout. It was originally a two-family home, with communal spaces at street level and bedrooms below. A renovation six years ago reconfigured the upper level into one large, marble-floored entertaining space. The kitchen was enlarged, and the bathrooms were redone.

"We wanted it to be more modern," said Penelope Vlamaki, the owner's daughter and the manager of the property, which is frequently rented.

At the end of an asphalt driveway, beyond an arched colonnade, are two separate front doors. One leads past a hall closet and bathroom, through an archway, to the intersection of the dining and living spaces, which connect with the kitchen in the open floor plan. The other leads past a bedroom and a hall bathroom, through another archway, to the living space.

The kitchen has wood cabinets, a stainless-steel double sink, creamy Bakelite countertops and a porcelain-tile backsplash. Beyond the breakfast bar, three knitted pendant lights hang over the dining table.

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The 2,690-square-foot house has two front doors, both leading to the open-plan living area. The house has freshwater tanks and solar panels for power. Credit Crete Island Estates

Three sets of sliding-glass doors in the rear of the living area open to a broad balcony outfitted with a hammock, a dining table and a lounge area for savoring western sunsets over the bay. The house, which is decorated in blue and white, is being sold fully furnished.

Twin curved staircases lead down to the lower level, with three bedrooms and a hall bathroom on either side, and laminated wood floors throughout. "You can be all together, and you can be separate," Ms. Vlamaki said. "Families like to be together and also separate from their friends."

The gray-tiled bathroom on one side of the lower level has a Jacuzzi tub; on the other side, the matching bath has a shower.

Two master bedrooms, one with a canopied double bed, have sliding-glass doors that open to a covered terrace and heated pool overlooking the water. Chaises longues and a canopied double sun bed face the water.

The remaining bedrooms have doors leading outside. One has a private, shaded patio; another opens to a seating area.

A washing machine is in a downstairs bathroom, and clothes are hung outside to dry. "We have sun most of the time," Ms. Vlamaki said.

The house has freshwater tanks and rooftop solar panels to provide electricity for hot water, internet and satellite television. There is parking for three cars.

The main level combines a dining area and a long living area. Sliding-glass doors lead out to a large balcony overlooking the sea. Credit Crete Island Estates

The mountainous island of Crete is about 160 miles south of Athens, with around 630,000 residents. Villa Ioanna is half a mile from the main Plaka square, where there are restaurants, cafes and mini markets. Sandy and pebbled beaches, shops, cafes, bars and a supermarket are less than a mile away, in the resort village of Almyrida. The nearest marina for small yachts and ferries is in Kalyves, a 15-minute drive. Of the three airports on Crete, Chania International Airport, a 45-minute drive, is the closest.

After a nine-year, 42 percent slump during the national debt crisis, the Greek housing market is on the mend, industry professionals said. In 2018, real estate investment increased by 20 percent and prices by almost 2 percent, according to the Bank of Greece,and the volume of building permits, which had fallen for seven straight years, rose more than 10 percent. The turnaround coincided with the end, in August 2018, of Greece's $360 billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund.

"For a long time there was not much going on," said Claudia Marenbach-Fountoulaki, an owner of Crete Island Estates, which has this listing. "With the crisis, there was a time we didn't have anybody coming. Prices were rock bottom."

Besides an improved economy, an uptick in tourism is helping, said Kostas Taralas, the chief executive of Greek Exclusive Properties. Earlier this year, Crete was named the fourth-best destination in the world by TripAdvisor, because of its physical beauty and archaeological treasures.

Crete's real estate market is "one of the strongest in Greece," Mr. Taralas said. Thanks to its warm, sunny climate and long summer season, "many international buyers have Crete as first choice to buy their second home," he said, adding that the market is similar to those of other Greek islands, including Corfu, Paros and Rhodes.

The covered rear terrace looks out on the pool area and the horizon beyond. Credit Crete Island Estates

Crete is seeing "intensive construction of villas and two- to three-bedroom residences within a complex with a shared swimming pool," said Vladimir Papounidis, the vice president of Grekodom Development. And seven "five-star" hotels have been built on the island in recent years, he said.

Prices for villas with a "nice sea view and short distance to the sea" range from about 500,000 to 1.3 million euros ($550,000 to $1.4 million), Mr. Taralas said. Seafront villas, with direct access to the water, go for 2.5 million to 4 million euros ($2.7 million to $4.4 million).

A historic home in need of restoration can be bought for about 100,000 euros ($110,000), but "it will cost 150 percent more to renovate," Ms. Marenbach-Fountoulaki said. "They are all inland in a village, but have great character."

Luxury seafront properties like Villa Ioanna held their value during the financial crisis, with "stable prices the last 10 years, considering inflation," said Savvas Savvaidis, the managing director of Greece Sotheby's International Realty.

Many of Crete's foreign buyers come from Belgium, France, Germany, Israel and Scandinavia, Ms. Marenbach-Fountoulaki said, as well as the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Mr. Savvaidis said he has also seen buyers from Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

One reason they are drawn to Crete, Ms. Marenbach-Fountoulaki said, is that homes there are a bargain compared with those on the popular island of Mykonos. Foreigners also choose Crete because the "towns are more authentic" and the locals are "hospitable and very friendly," she said.

Greece's golden visa program offers noncitizens a renewable five-year residency visa in exchange for investing $250,000 in a home. The program "is very appealing for Chinese and Russian" buyers, Mr. Savvaidis said.

The 1.23-acre property overlooks Souda Bay, which feeds into the Mediterranean Sea. Credit Crete Island Estates

The Souda Bay area is home to Greek and American military bases, and buyers there must obtain permission from the Greek military. "They always get it, and it is only a formal procedure, which takes about two weeks to get through," Ms. Marenbach-Fountoulaki said.

After finding a home, buyers are issued a Greek tax number and must open a Greek bank account for the transaction, Mr. Taralas said.

Buyers are advised to hire a lawyer who will handle the title search; do due diligence to make sure the house is in good shape; and provide the papers for the notary public to draw up a contract, Mr. Savvaidis said.

Because of the difficulty of obtaining a mortgage, most foreign buyers pay cash, Ms. Marenbach-Fountoulaki said.

Closing costs can run about 8 to 10 percent of the sale price. There is a transfer tax of 3 percent on private homes (whereas property owned by a corporation is subject to a value-added tax of 24 percent), Mr. Taralas said. Notary and lawyers' fees plus the broker's commission total about 1 to 2.5 percent of the sale price, and there is a land registry tax of 0.5 percent.

Greek; euro (1 euro = $1.11)

The annual property tax on this home is 845 euros ($927), Ms. Vlamaki said.

Claudia Marenbach-Fountoulaki, Crete Island Estates, 011-30-28250-83155; crete-island.net

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This seven-bedroom, four-bathroom home is in Plaka, a fishing village on the northwestern coast of Crete, the largest and most populous of the Greek islands. The property, known as Villa Ioanna, sits on a sloping, 1.23-acre lot near several olive groves and overlooks Souda Bay and the Mediterranean Sea.