The World Trade Organization (WTO) came into existence in 1995, replacing the 50-year-old trade regime known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that had governed trade among capitalist countries in the geopolitical context of the Cold War. The new regime was emblematic of a moment in time, when global economic integration was […]
Estimates vary of the number of unintended pregnancies that occur worldwide each year, but recent data puts the number over 100 million, or nearly half of all annual pregnancies. The World Health Organization also notes unintended pregnancies can present numerous risks for both mother and child, from unsafe abortions, to higher vulnerability and risk of […]
By Justin Yifu Lin and Yan Wang The global economy is facing three overlapping crises: the climate crisis, as shown by extreme weather disasters, Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has caused energy and food prices to skyrocket, and capital flight from emerging markets and developing countries, which refers to the rapid outflow of US dollar […]
By Emma Liu Following the US military withdrawal in August 2021, the Taliban entered Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan, and took over the state, catalyzing a series of crises amid great concern worldwide. Among the many social groups affected, women are now denied fundamental rights by the Taliban, including the rights to political participation, […]
By Rebecca Ray From 2020-2022, China has presided over the Council of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP). Their leadership has included the establishment of the Kunming Biodiversity Fund and the consideration of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. Concomitantly, researchers at the Boston University Global Development Policy Center have been tracking […]
As the largest bilateral creditor of overseas development finance, Chinese development finance is under growing scrutiny for its impact on marine systems and the more than 27 million coastal Indigenous peoples around the world who rely on a healthy and functioning marine ecosystem for food and income. How risky are Chinese development finance projects to […]
By Emanne Khan Photographs of post-conflict peace negotiations typically feature government officials signing treaties, shaking hands or engaging in other acts of goodwill. Often missing from these images are the nongovernmental actors who may not sign treaties, but nonetheless play important roles in the negotiation process. For example, a single Italian non-governmental organization (NGO) was […]
A controversial legal process known as investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) is making it difficult for governments to mobilize finance for ambitious climate action. When assets are protected by international investment treaties, like the Energy Charter Treaty, legal claims can be brought against countries by investors who feel they are negatively impacted by government policies. For […]
Embedded in the foreign exchange (FX) market is huge, unseen dollar borrowing. In an FX swap, for instance, a Dutch pension fund or Japanese insurer borrows dollars and lends euro or yen in the “spot leg”, and later repays the dollars and receives euro or yen in the “forward leg.” Thus, an FX swap, along […]
Since the global financial crisis of 2008, the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) has changed dramatically to become increasingly voluminous and complex. Today, the GFSN is comprised of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), regional financial arrangements (RFAs) and bilateral currency swaps between central banks. The GFSN now has an unprecedented capacity for crisis prevention and […]