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JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2015 BizEd 11 ILLUSTRATION BY DAN PAGE West Moves in, China Wins WESTERN BIG-BOX STORES VIEW Chinese markets as a way to expand their global reach. But their presence also improves business for Chinese exporters, say Keith Head of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia in Canada; Ran Jing of the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, China; and Deborah L. Swenson of the department of economics at the University of California, Davis, in the U.S. Head, Jing, and Swenson looked at data from 1997-2005 pertaining to exports from 35 Chinese cities to 50 countries. They also collected annual financial reports from major retailers Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco, and Metro, which all entered the Chinese market in 1995. The researchers noted the loca- tion and opening date of these retailers' Chinese stores. They found that exports from a Chi- nese city increased by an average 2.55 percent when its number of foreign retail stores increased by 10 percent over the previous three years. Because the Chinese government required foreign retailers to carry Chinese goods in their Chinese stores, those retail- ers pushed manufacturers to improve pro- ductivity, efficiency, and product quality. The retailers also test marketed Chinese products, which gave local manufacturers information on how to make those prod- ucts more appealing to global markets. "Exposure to multinationals pro- vides local Chinese manufacturers with significant insight into what it takes to become suppliers in the global retail environment," says Head. "Ultimately, it's like a boot camp that pumps out more effective exporting machines." He and his co-authors note that policymakers in emerging markets should take note of the Chinese experience as they work to boost the global competitiveness of their own local manufacturers. The paper "From Beijing to Benton- ville: Do multinational retailers link markets?" appears in the September 2014 issue of the Journal of Development Economics. The millennial generation is looking for big business to address social problems. Eighty-one percent believe big business should invest as much in making positive social impact as in creating profits. Eighty-seven percent want to work for companies with a socially responsible agenda. To read the full report, visit www.theventure.com/gb/en/. Jobs for Millennials Young Americans are facing grim employment prospects and mount- ing student debt, but they are not being adequately trained for jobs the U.S. economy needs, according to a new report from the nonparti- san group JustJobs Network. The organization recently released its report, "Overcoming the Youth Employment Crisis, Strategies from Around the Globe," which argues that the best way to solve the employment crisis is to expand the apprenticeship system and improve access to information on jobs and career pathways. For instance, according to the report, in the future one-third of all jobs will require just an associate's degree, a technical degree, or an industry credential. Even in 2012, an estimated 600,000 manufac- turing jobs in the U.S. went unfilled because of a skills shortage. "Young people around the world face a deepening crisis of unemployment and underem- ployment," says Sabina Dewan, executive director at JustJobs Network. "We need to find innova- tive solutions." For more information, visit www.justjobsnetwork.org.