Library
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China’s Belt and Road at Five
A Progress Report China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) marked its fifth birthday in September 2018, though there was probably less to celebrate than the Chinese authorities might have wished. Five years after President Xi presented the initiative to the world in a speech in Kazakhstan, the BRI is facing pressures on three fronts. The...
Global Growth -
Feeding the Future
How Innovation and Shifting Consumer Preferences Can Help Feed a Growing Planet It’s a simple question: Will we be able to feed everyone if the population of the planet rises from about 7 billion people today to 9-10 billion in 2050? If you are a student of Thomas Malthus and buy into his Essay on...
Global Growth -
Migration and the Economy
Economic Realities, Social Impacts & Political Choices Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon defined migration as “an expression of the human aspiration for dignity, safety and a better future. It is part of the social fabric, part of our very make-up as a human family”. In recent years, however, and especially in the aftermath of...
Global Growth -
Rethinking Single-Use Plastics
Responding to a Sea Change in Consumer Behavior “There’s no such thing as ‘away’. When we throw anything away it must go somewhere” — Annie Leonard, Executive Director of Greenpeace USA Roughly half of global consumer packaging is made of plastic and over a third of resin that is produced by Chemical companies goes into...
Environmental Economics -
Disruptive Innovations VI
Ten More Things to Think About When we think about innovation and the change that it brings about, there is a tendency to say things like ‘it seems to have come out of nowhere’ or ‘it happened in a heartbeat.’ The same can be said about fads. On a Monday you’ve never heard of a...
Technology & Innovation -
Putting The Band Back Together
Remastering the World of Music The music industry is in the midst of two profound changes. First, consumers are increasingly opting to rent — rather than buy — music. Second, the demise of physical music has prompted artists to tour more often, driving significant growth in concerts and festivals. In the U.S., the music industry...
Technology & Innovation