By Rachel Thrasher, Veronika Wirtz and Warren Kaplan At the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) 12th Ministerial Conference from June 12-15 in Geneva, Switzerland, trade ministers and other senior officials will gather to discuss the future of the international trading system. Many members view this long-delayed conference as a sign of whether the WTO as an […]
By Cecilia Springer and Rebecca Ray Environmental cooperation has been a key bedrock of successful collaboration between China and Western countries, starting with the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm, Sweden 50 years ago. Cooperation, not isolation, brought China to the table for the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015, […]
By Bridgette Lang The Spring 2022 Global China Research Colloquium invited leading scholars to virtually present their latest research on topics spanning China’s application of industrial policy, debt-for-nature swaps with Ecuador, simulating the impacts of China’s clean energy transition abroad and mapping the marine risks of Chinese overseas development finance. Zhu Xian started the year […]
By Amanda Brown The Spring 2022 Global Economic Governance Book Talk Series convened four distinguished scholars with recent books, spanning topics from oil politics and China’s escape from shock therapy, to the political economy of energy transitions and the globalization of patient capital. Stephen B. Kaplan opened the series with a discussion on the political […]
The Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center is pleased to present the 2022 Summer in the Field Fellows. These four outstanding Boston University students are currently pursuing graduate degrees at different departments across the university, including the School of Public Health, the Pardee School of Global Studies and the Department of Economics. The GDP […]
By Emanne Khan Family planning and access to contraception protect the well-being of mothers and children by reducing the risks of unintended pregnancy, infertility, infant mortality and sexually transmitted diseases. Unmet need for family planning is a major issue in low- and middle-income countries, with the Guttmacher Institute estimating that a staggering 225 million women […]
Intervals of less than 24 months between pregnancies and births can adversely affect maternal and child health, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. While studies suggest that improving access to family planning services may also improve women’s contraceptive use and reduce fertility, high-quality evidence of the effect of family planning interventions on longer-term fertility and birth spacing […]
By Luma Ramos The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report stressed that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 2010-2019 were higher than in any previous decade, and as such, limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector. However, little is known about how low-carbon energy transitions unfold, particularly in developing countries. On […]
By Oyintarelado (Tarela) Moses This week, the African Development Bank (AfDB) convenes its annual meetings in Accra, Ghana under the theme of Achieving Climate Resilience and a Just Energy Transition for Africa. As countries throughout the region experience the effects of climate change, from floods in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa to severe droughts in parts […]
Vaccination against COVID-19, including the recommended booster shot, is a critical line of defense against severe illness, hospitalization and death. Communities with low vaccination rates may be particularly vulnerable to future waves of COVID-19. While vaccine uptake in Massachusetts is high relative to the US average, a number of eligible individuals remain unvaccinated and an […]