You would be forgiven for missing the potential solution to the two largest crises facing modern Europe. Although well-received by the European Commission, it passed almost immediately into public obscurity, hidden away in a four-page… [Read more]
Economics & Finance
A global approach on up-to-date topics in the areas of economic policy, development economics, and finance.
State of Development Policy Today: An Interview with Nancy Birdsall
As part of her visit to the School to deliver the Kapuscinski Development Lecture, Dr. Nancy Birdsall met with the Governance Post. Our Editor for the Economics and Finance section, Kevin Tharayil, asked her a… [Read more]
The Strugglers in Developing Countries: Reconciling Expectations and Aspirations
Millions of people in the developing world have left poverty and joined what could be called the middle class. But the majority of households in the world are still vulnerable to falling back into poverty.… [Read more]
Why Good Policy-Making Matters: The Accession Case of Colombia to the OECD
The accession process to the OECD is already changing Colombian policymaking processes. Indeed, this was the main aim of President of Colombia Mr. Juan Manuel Santos when, in January 2011, he informed the OECD… [Read more]
The Role of Mutual Recognition Agreements as Trade Facilitators for Developing Countries
Trade liberalisation has been a policy adopted by many developing countries since the 1990s. No country in recent decades has achieved economic success in terms of substantial increases to standards of living without being open… [Read more]
What is Wrong with Economics?
Along with the world economy, the Great Recession has shaken the ivory tower of the global intelligentsia and inflicted a serious blow to the reputation of an entire discipline: economics. In the aftermath of the crisis,… [Read more]
Pakistan: Why ‘Failed’ Infrastructure Projects Can be Successful
In 2013, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif unveiled the first of several Metrobus lines in the nation’s second largest city Lahore. Eponymously named the “Lahore Metrobus” the provincial government hailed the project as a vital… [Read more]
Change of Roles: The Weakness of the Developing World
World markets are going through a period of uncertainty. The struggle of the financial market in China is harming the expectation of growth in developing economies. Subsequently, the risk aversion of investors has risen, and… [Read more]
TTIP and its Discontents: Mapping the Way Forward for Sustainable Investment Agreements
Recently, investment and trade agreements have been highlighted in popular discourse as controversial. The proposed Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the European Union and the United States has cultivated tremendous public opposition, despite… [Read more]
Are Non-Tariff Barriers the New Walls to Trade? A Case Analysis from Argentina and Ecuador
Non-Tariffs Measures (NTMs) have become relevant instruments of protection in countries that have traditionally protected specific economic sectors from international trade. This recent development is a result of the reduction or elimination of import tariffs… [Read more]