Policy Innovations

This position paper from the Environmental Investigation Agency outlines a range of global law enforcement strategies that are key to the survival of the wild tiger. Key among them is reducing demand for tiger and big cat parts....

In the Myth of Financial Protectionism, Kevin Gallagher argues that capital controls tend to correct for market failures due to imperfect information, contagion, and uncertainty....

Why is it that a woman can lead a country, yet women are slower to be served in coffee shops? In the West, women and men share equal status under the law. But in countless practical ways, women experience inequality on a daily basis....

The recent spikes in global food prices served as a wake-up call to the global community, but what has really changed in the global policy response?...

The now-official U.S.–Colombia Free Trade Agreement will dampen growth and make it harder for Colombia to put in place policies for innovation and industrialization, writes Kevin Gallagher. Colombia will also have fewer tools to confront financial instability....

MIT researcher Andreas Mershin has a vision that within a few years, people in remote villages in the developing world may be able to make their own solar panels, at low cost, using otherwise worthless agricultural waste as their raw material....

This policy brief examines the design, enactment, implementation, and performance of the world's first large-scale pollutant cap-and-trade system: the acid rain amendments to the Clean Air Act....

Hedge fund manager Philippe Burke gives us an inside look at what went wrong with the financial system and explains why he supports Occupy Wall Street; and Marlene Spoerri discusses the tension between income inequality and democracy....

Fifteen case studies in 12 countries demonstrate that natural resource efficiency is possible in small-scale bioenergy initiatives, such as biodigesters and efficient stoves....

Efforts to combat the neglected tropical diseases reached a turning point in 2007 when WHO convened a meeting of global partners. This roadmap represents their next step in developing innovative, cost-effective solutions....

With a corrupt and rudderless government, Africa's most populous country has resumed its dance on the edge of the precipice. Its poor and powerless citizens are demanding transparency and accountability....

In a fascinating conversation, Thomas Pogge explains how growing up in post-war Germany awakened him to injustice, and he lays out his plan for reforming the pharmaceutical industry....

Sustainability should not be about painful deprivation, says Bjarke Ingels in this TED talk. Instead, uplifting design principles can reduce CO2 while improving social cohesion....

What are the big political risks in 2012 and associated ethical decisions? Risk guru Ian Bremmer discusses his annual list, and his conclusions may surprise you....

Evan O'Neil ponders the future of mega-cities, and Madeleine Lynn interviews Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun on the work of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, a watchdog group that names and shames the worst polluters in China....

In the latest video from Streetfilms, Clarence Eckerson, Jr. documents how the Mexican city of Guadalajara has enlivened its roadways with a weekly cultural program that encourages healthy and active recreation in public spaces....

Global migration is a key part of our economic future. Three experts present different interpretations of migration in Europe, the United States, and the Persian Gulf....

Social protection floors are based on the idea that everyone should enjoy income security sufficient enough to live, thrive, and educate themselves. This ILO report shows they are necessary, feasible, and effective....

This UNEP reports shows increasing evidence of a new economic paradigm in which material wealth is not delivered at the expense of growing environmental risks, ecological scarcities, and social disparities....

As a country endowed with valuable resources, Myanmar is ripe for social and economic innovation. A decent work and social protection agenda combined with an industrial strategy would help it through its time of political transition....