News

Nobel laureate John Nash — who died on 23 May — stands in the same line as Smith, Ricardo, Walras and Keynes in having shaped economic thinking. But he was even more, argues Prof. Shyama V. Ramani in this tribute to the genius of game theory. Unlike other giants of economic philosophy, N...

Nepal was struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake on 25 April — a disaster that killed thousands of people. Many more were injured or displaced, including countless children. PhD fellow Vincenzo Vinci, who works for UNICEF Nepal, sent this update as part of a Q&A with GPAC² Director Dr. Minde...

Innovations from ICT — and the roll out of these technologies — touch every aspect of our lives. They are shaping political agendas and can help us achieve our development goals. Ahead of this Sunday’s  ‘World Telecommunication & Information Society Day‘, PhD fellow...

In an earlier post, PhD fellow Ayokunu Adedokun outlined a bold agenda for the president-elect — issues that he says are key to long-term peace, security and inclusive development in Nigeria. In this second post, he looks at energy and economic reforms. Diversification of the economy Under Pre...

Last week’s UK elections put the Conservative Party firmly back in power. What does this mean for the ‘man on the street’, for teachers and carers? To clarify the economic backdrop, PhD Fellow Mary Kaltenberg examined wage distributions across the UK. The story she found is stark: ...

Mahmud Henry Rogers graduated from our Master’s programme in 2012 and is now standing as a candidate in the UK parliamentary elections on 7 May 2015. He is contesting the seat of Bedford and Kempston, located around 50 miles (80 km) north of London. Inspired by his time in Maastricht, Mahmud c...

Maastricht University (UM) has ranked among the top 10 in the Times Higher Education (THE) 100 Under 50 ranking for the third year running, making it the sixth best young university in the world. The list was revealed at the Young Universities Summit in Dublin, where Rector Magnificus Prof. Luc Soet...

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed of Mauritania was appointed UN Special Envoy for Yemen on 25 April 2015. He holds an Advanced Certificate in Economics and Social Policy Analysis from the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance — a course run by Dr. Franziska Gassmann. In a statement, a UN spokespers...

Twenty-five years of European border restrictions have not only failed to curb immigration but have actually had counterproductive results — through an increase in irregular migration and an increasing dependence of migrants on smugglers, argues Prof. Hein de Haas. In recent months, a record n...

Political history was made in Nigeria exactly a month ago. Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) lost to former military leader Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC). No incumbent president has ever lost an election in Nigeria since independenc...

Each year, 26 April, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) marks World IP Day. The day helps showcase how intellectual property inspires innovation and creativity — yet recent research gives another perspective. For example, how TRIPs type agreements may be stifling ‘develo...

Described as “an astonishing inspiration for leaders around the world for how to mobilise people, create change in your local community and see the international effects,” PhD alumnus and affiliated researcher Dr. Carlos Cadena Gaitan has won the 2015 Future Sustainability Leader award. ...

The essay competition ‘Inside the Black Box‘ asked students to join the debate on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and to come up with ideas on how to improve it. Pushing further, it was a campaign to reach policymakers who may be able to restructure ODA. We spoke with Education Dir...

Dr. Aziz Atamanov graduated September 2011 from the PhD programme in Public Policy and Policy Analysis here at the School of Governance. He soon joined the World Bank, first as a consultant on the Central Asian region and, since 2012, on data management, poverty and shared prosperity analysis on the...

The World Bank’s goal of cutting extreme poverty to less than 3% by 2030 is not achievable, says poverty expert Dr. Richard Bluhm. Development goals should be more realistic and policies should aim to build up institutions that promote inter-ethnic trust and long-term economic growth. World Bank Pre...

Maastricht University has been ranked the second fastest-rising young university in the latest Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The study highlighted seven universities under the age of 50, drawing on data from the last four years of the World University Rankings. Only institutions ...

“Policies to promote entrepreneurship among poor and marginalised groups are politically appealing but generally not the most effective… increased efforts should be made to help promising and established enterprises expand, produce higher quality goods and connect to global markets,̶...

Ecuador’s new ‘Vice-Minister, Technical Secretary for the Eradication of Poverty’, Andrés Mideros Mora, is an MPP alumnus and current PhD fellow at UNU-MERIT. In this brief interview, we ask how his studies in Maastricht helped his career, about the background to his role, and what...

On 1 March 2015, 15 mid-career professionals started the GPAC2 programme to obtain a PhD in Governance and Policy Analysis. This year’s group is made up of eight women and seven men, representing all continents: four European, two Asian, two African, three North American, three South American ...

“We need to be more transparent and clear about what development money is used for and that it actually goes into development work.” Dr. Melissa Siegel Gender, inequalities, security and migration are the guiding themes of the EU ‘Brainstorming on Challenges for International Coope...