I haven't posted something in a while that wasn't a blurb about a publication, so to mark my 37th birthday I'm going to write a proper opinion post! The topic is the 'Harnessing Digitalization in Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals' interim report to the Secretary General from the Task Force on Digital Financing of … Continue reading Digitalization and SDG Financing are Political
Political Economy
T20 Argentina: Policy brief on high-skill migration
My colleague Katrina Munir-Asen and I were tasked by the T20 (think tank group of the G20 countries) to put together a policy brief for this year's G20 presidency on the future of high-skill migration. Central to our argument is that countries should focus on attracting people, especially in highly technical and innovative industries and … Continue reading T20 Argentina: Policy brief on high-skill migration
New column in the Frankfurter Rundschau!
I'll post an English translation, but if you read or German (or want to Google Translate it) here is my latest on balancing the role of the private sector with statebuilding to encourage investment in municipalities that host refugees!
Joining the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik!
I'm excited to announce that I'll be joining the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (German Institute for Development Policy) in Bonn, Germany! I'll be working in their Governance, Statehood, and Security group, doing research and providing policy advice on forced displacement in fragile and conflict affected countries. I'm excited to have the opportunity to put my skills … Continue reading Joining the Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik!
Where Are the Legislators (Who Ostensibly Pay for Data)?
I watched from a distance on Twitter as the World Bank hosted its annual data event. I would love to have attended - the participants were a pretty amazing collection of economists, data professionals and academics. This tweet seemed to resonate with a theme I've been focused on the last week or so: There is … Continue reading Where Are the Legislators (Who Ostensibly Pay for Data)?
Diagnosis Matters: Preventing human trafficking on the demand side
I was watching the news past Saturday when Australia's Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, took time out from a talk on iron ore prices (or something along those lines) to discuss the ongoing issue of people smuggling. It's a short video that you'll have to follow the link to see (The Australian doesn't provide embed code), but … Continue reading Diagnosis Matters: Preventing human trafficking on the demand side
Putting the ‘political’ back in political economy
I stumbled across an article in the New York Times a few days ago by Tyler Cowen of George Mason University and a regular contributor to the blog Marginal Revolution. Entitled "Income Inequality Is Not Rising Globally. It's Falling.", it takes a crack at attempting to indicate that while country-level income inequality is increasing the overall effects … Continue reading Putting the ‘political’ back in political economy
Quick thoughts from the #Tech4PP Twitter chat
I followed (and even participated!) in NDI's Twitter chat today on using technology to increase political party and electoral participation. If you're interested you can find the thread by searching the hashtag '#Tech4PP'. There were a lot of good examples of tech being used to increase participation, make processes more transparent, and boost inclusion in the … Continue reading Quick thoughts from the #Tech4PP Twitter chat
Poverty (and Social Development Writ Large) is Not an Innovation Problem
I came across an article a friend posted on Facebook yesterday about the work that the MasterCard Foundation is doing to reduce poverty in Africa. Since some of my work is in the 'techno-innovation 4 development' sector, I was curious to give it a read. It was everything that makes me *sigh* and/or *shake my … Continue reading Poverty (and Social Development Writ Large) is Not an Innovation Problem
NATO, the U.S. and Ukraine: A political economy of bad options?
Since I'm not an expert on Ukraine, the greater region it's situated in, or much of the history, I've primarily observed and absorbed the various op-eds, arguments and blog posts I've seen from others. I don't really have much to add about Ukraine or the politics of the region itself, but I have found the … Continue reading NATO, the U.S. and Ukraine: A political economy of bad options?
Charles P. Martin-Shields 