In The News

Africa Unplugged

November 9, 2016
Two of three people in Africa lack access to electricity, and for the poor, connecting to an electricity grid is unfathomably expensive. Costs of solar panels have fallen dramatically in recent years, and off-grid solar systems are providing the sun-rich continent an inexpensive way to connect to power. New technologies allow residents of African communities the means to charge smartphones and...

Top-Down, Bottom-Up Urban Design

Elizabeth Greenspan October 25, 2016
The United Nations Habitat III conference on urbanization in the developing world, the first in 20 years, convened in mid-October. Three sociologists – motivated to reshape the Athens Charter, a set of rigid guidelines crafted in 1943 to standardize urban design across the world – presented what they call the “Quito Papers,” a comprehensive guide and “more flexible way to design cities,” writes...

US Economy: Citizenship for Sale

Kara Scannell September 14, 2016
US cities like Miami are using the EB-5 visa to attract wealthy investors. The program was designed to promote development in areas of need, but Kara Scannell of the Financial Times describes luxury office towers, hotels and retail complexes. “For a $500,000 investment in a project that creates at least 10 jobs in a high-unemployment area, a foreign national can eventually receive a green card...

Africa’s Economic Potential Hit Hard by Gender Inequality

Amy Copley September 12, 2016
A recent United Nations Development Project report shows how increased gender equality in Africa would create economic benefits for the region as a whole – for both men and women. Gender disparities in educational and economic opportunities and health care are persistent. The report suggests that reduced GDP represents billions of dollars of loss, with $104.75 billion in 2014 alone, as a result...

Rising Sino-Japanese Competition in Africa

Yun Sun September 8, 2016
Japan is showing increased interest in Africa, most recently with a visit from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his $30 billion pledge. Analysts view such diplomacy as part of long history of rivalry between Japan’s and China – from the legacy of World War II and the subsequent shaping of the United Nations to regional conflicts such as the South China Sea and Taiwan. The rivalry finds new...

Scramble in the Horn

James Jeffrey August 24, 2016
Landlocked Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country with more than 96 million people. Conflict lingers between Ethiopia and Eritrea since the latter obtained independence in 1993. “The fighting that broke out at the Ethiopia-Eritrea border on 12 June, reportedly involving artillery and tanks, resulting in hundreds killed and wounded, has highlighted how old-fashioned power politics has...

Can Modi Harness India’s High-Tech Diaspora?

Rupa Subramanya October 5, 2015
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought to use his recent trip to the United States as a platform for encouraging Indian diaspora communities to foster closer economic ties with their home country. With more than 28.5 million Indians living overseas, 4.5 million in the United States alone, the Indian government is trying to make it easier for migrants to send remittances home by treating such...