Papua New Guinea: An App for Midwives that Could Save Lives
Heike Le Ker The postage stamps from Papua New Guinea are like a window into an exotic world for Verena Thomas. They show dark-skinned, colorfully painted people, strange jewelry and lush landscapes. The letters the stamps are affixed to were sent by her great uncle, Catholic missionary Johannes Nil…
Access to Digital Technology Accelerates Global Gender Equality
Julie Sweet In every industry, digital technologies are transforming the status quo. Now we have evidence that they are also bringing us closer to workplace equality. Digital fluency is helping to level the playing field between men and women at work. Recent research from Accenture, “Getting to Equa…
Why Women Are Vital for Delivering Sustainable Development
Ema Solberg Gender equality is a question of human rights. It is also the sustainable way forward for humanity. As co-chair of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group, I am very pleased that 193 heads of state recognised this in New York last September when th…
The Global Conversation on Climate Engineering: Five Minutes With Dr. Simon Nicholson
Dr. Simon Nicholson Following a talk entitled, “Climate Engineering: Coming Soon to a Planet Near You?” the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs sat down with Co-Director of the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment Dr. Simon Nicholson to discuss the most recent developments in climate eng…
How to Pull the World Economy Out of Its Rut
Peter Coy Crazy things are happening in the world economy. In Europe and Japan, interest rates have turned negative, something long thought impossible. In the U.S., workers’ productivity is improving at the feeblest five-year rate since 1982. China is a confusing welter of slumping growth and asset …
The World Bank is eliminating the term “developing country” from its data vocabulary
Tim Fernholz In the 2016 edition of its World Development Indicators, the World Bank has made a big choice: It’s no longer distinguishing between “developed” countries and “developing” ones in the presentation of its data. The change marks an evolution in thinking about the geographic distribution o…
Saudi Arabia’s Bold Vision for Economic Diversification
Mohamed A. El-Erian Saudi Arabia has captured the world’s attention with the announcement of an ambitious agenda, called Vision 2030, aimed at overhauling the structure of its economy. The plan would reduce historical high dependence on oil by transforming how the Kingdom generates income, as well a…
Kim Jong-un’s Coronation and North Korea’s Future
Scott A. Snyder The seventh congress of the North Korean Workers’ Party (WPK) held from May 6 to 8 was a carefully choreographed affair designed to show the world that its newly installed Chairman Kim Jong-un is fully in control of the North Korean state. By taking the title of Chairman, Kim has sig…
Monopoly’s New Era
Joseph E. Stiglitz For 200 years, there have been two schools of thought about what determines the distribution of income – and how the economy functions. One, emanating from Adam Smith and nineteenth-century liberal economists, focuses on competitive markets. The other, cognizant of how Smith’s bra…
Don’t Blame Sykes-Picot for the Middle East’s Mess
Steven A. Cook, Amr T. Leheta Sometime in the 100 years since the Sykes-Picot agreement was signed, invoking its “end” became a thing among commentators, journalists, and analysts of the Middle East. Responsibility for the cliché might belong to the Independent’s Patrick Cockburn, who in June 2013 w…