According to a recent report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), economic growth in emerging markets through calendar year 2016 will grow to 4.7 percent, driven by improvements in conditions in certain distressed economies, including Russia and economies in the Middle East and North Africa. The IMF is also forecasting that increases in global growth […]
Increasing Global Competition
Roads, railways, and research can stop global food waste
One-quarter of all the food in the world is lost each year, owing to inefficient harvesting, inadequate storage, and wastage in the kitchen. Halve that waste, and the world could feed an extra billion people – and make hunger yesterday’s problem. The extent of food loss is particularly galling in view of a new global […]
How open data can increase transparency in the aid sector
The International Aid Transparency Initiative is helping translate the data revolution into increased accountability and better coordination within the aid sector. But can standards alone push civil society organizations, donors and governments to open up? Devex spoke to several experts during last month’s International Open Data Conference in Ottawa, Canada, to understand how aid organizations, […]
TFA could cut trade costs by up to 17.5%, says OECD
Full implementation of the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) trade facilitation agreement (TFA) could reduce global trade costs by up to 17.5%, according to the OECD. The 2015 OECD trade facilitation indicators (TFIs) have determined that developing countries have the greatest opportunities for trade cost reduction through the TFA, as most upper middle and high income […]
Agriculture will drive Africa’s rise to economic power
I was in Mali recently where I met a woman, Maimouna Coulibaly, who several years ago left her job in the United States and returned to her home country to start a seed company called Faso Kaba. She quickly and confidently ramped up production, from 100 tons per year to over 1,000. She is eager […]
Can Mobile Financial Services Bring an End To Poverty?
An estimated 2.5 billion adults do not have access to banks. Unsurprisingly, they are among the world’s most destitute: According to a report released by the World Bank and other development groups, about three out of four adults living on less than $2 a day, from farmers in Tanzania to slum-dwellers in India to seamstresses […]
China’s Middle East Tightrope
To understand China’s role in the Middle East, consider one recent event, and one recent non-event. In late March, Beijing made headlines by sending warships to rescue hundreds of Chinese and foreign nationals from conflict-torn Yemen. Yet in early April, Chinese President Xi Jinping canceled what was supposed to be his first official trip to […]