In The News

Global Poverty Reduction Slows: Brookings

Homi Kharas, Kristofer Hamel, Martin Hofer and Baldwin Tong June 12, 2019
The bulk of the world’s extremely poor population lives in Africa, but rates worldwide have slowed. The achievements of Asian economies like India cannot be denied, yet as more people escape poverty, life becomes harder for those left behind – this is known as the base effect. In 2015, the United Nations established goals for the year 2030, and Africa lags on ending extreme poverty, defined as...

Countries Return Plastic Waste: BBC

June 10, 2019
Plastic waste is durable and can require centuries to decompose. Burning destroys plastic, but emits harmful emissions. Despite increasing amounts of plastic produced, the United States and Europe report that less than 10 percent of plastic is recycled. Increasingly, the plastic waste was shipped to developing nations, but much of that is unusable. “Often, materials that can't be recycled...

Depression in Poor Nations: Guardian

Tina Rosenberg June 8, 2019
Many experts once assumed that mental illness, especially, depression was concentrated in wealthy nations. In the 1990s, Vikram Patel, psychiatrist and researcher, set out to study if depression in Zimbabwe and other poor countries was actually a response to deprivation and injustice – conditions stemming from colonisation.” Traditional healers in Zimbabwe described “kufungisisa,” or excessive...

G-20 and Taxation Rules for Digital Giants: Kyodo

June 7, 2019
The world’s major economies agreed in a draft statement to accelerate tax collection from multinational digital companies like Google and Facebook. “The G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors will also warn that the world economy continues to face downside risks from trade conflicts between leading economies, while calling for accommodative monetary policy to ensure the economy is...

Chinese Money in Arab World Projects: Economist

June 4, 2019
This decade has witnessed a strengthening of economic ties between a number of Middle Eastern countries and China. While previously the Middle East was seen primarily as a petrol station, explains the Economist, with nearly half of China’s oil supplied by Arab countries and Iran, there was little direct foreign investment. The Economist reports that since 2010, Chinese investment has skyrocketed...

Climate Change and Capitalism: Guardian

Phil McDuff June 2, 2019
Children witnessing climate disruptions express alarm about the future and question why governments fail to take action against the planet’s destruction. “Today’s children, as they become more politically aware, will be much more radical than their parents, simply because there will be no other choice for them,” suggests Phil McDuff for the Guardian. “Climate change is the result of our current...

What Is 5G? Digital Trends

Christian de Looper June 1, 2019
Cities anticipate rapid installment of faster 5G networks and communities confront decisions on spectrum bands and the firms that will install. China will likely be the first with commercial 5G service, with other countries quick to follow, reports Christian de Looper for Digital Trends. In a summary of 5G highlights, with emphasis on US capabilities, he explains that the new networks are...