A new paper co-authored by Prof. Luc Soete brings business and science perspectives to the most pressing global issues of our time. Set against the macro backdrops of climate change and the coronavirus pandemic, the authors investigate ‘technological sovereignty’ and ‘knowledge safety’ in Africa and Europe — particularly vis-à-vis China, the USA and the World Health Organization. They also analyse the sanctity of intellectual property rights, amid the ongoing tensio...
A joint post by PhD alumni Racky Balde and Elvis Avenyo. … The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated counter-measures continue to shed light on the social and economic challenges facing African countries. Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa countries is expected to decline, putting pressure on already limited fiscal space and resources in the region. The worst affected will be people working in the informal economy, which in most African countries represents the biggest part of the econom...
Time will tell, but today, one and a half years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the “gloom-and-doom” predictions of worldwide recession, major disruptions in international trade, and rapidly rising unemployment appear to have been exaggerated. As the International Monetary Fund pointed out, the 2008/2009 financial crisis had a much more negative impact on the economy than either a “typical” recession or past “modern” pandemics (see Figure below).[1] Of course, the current COVID-19 p...
The impacts of COVID-19 have forced researchers to adapt quickly to working under unprecedented restrictions. Here we discuss a new toolkit for Remote Data Collection, gathering researchers’ solutions on everything from replacing face-to-face interaction to greater use of secondary data. The toolkit promises to be a useful resource for the research community, and a guide to improving the efficiency of data collection. … Mindel van de Laar: Over the last few months, with a team of four rese...
There is no doubt that COVID-19 has significantly impacted our lives, including schools and education. Temporary closures of school buildings have highlighted how factors outside school systems affect schools’ capacity to meet students’ needs and support academic achievement. For example, elementary schools can only successfully deliver online education if children have an adult or responsible caregiver with them or they have a reliable internet connection. There is a large body of research that...
The Sustainable Development Goals Report (2020) notes that we are far from being an open-defecation free world. Since 2015, around 500 million low-cost toilets have been diffused, but still about 2 billion people do not have access to a functioning toilet and about 4.2 billion people are using toilets that cannot be considered to be safely managed. These challenges must be addressed because diarrhoeal diseases are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide, especially among yo...
As many as 2 billion people worldwide do not have access to functioning toilets, and more than 4 billion use toilets that may be contaminating water sources, according to the latest Sustainable Development Goals Report (2020). This matters because sanitation feeds into almost every other SDG through improving heath, reducing child mortality and school absenteeism, and even promoting gender empowerment. Governments, public agencies, firms and charities are working hard to build toilets for the po...
A post by Riesa van Doorn, a student on our MSc. in Public Policy and Human Development … Today, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, let’s remind ourselves that violence against girls and women persists in every country in the world. According to the World Health Organization, gender-based violence affects one in three women in their lifetime. Before my Master’s programme in Public Policy and Human Development, the words ‘gender-based violence’ conjured ...
Imagine being born in rural India. Imagine being Swapnali Sutar. You come top of your class in primary school and are able to enter secondary education. You work hard and your dream of becoming a veterinary doctor gradually seems possible. Until one day COVID-19 stops the world in its tracks. Your school and teachers are able to offer classes online, but your education and future remain at risk because your village has zero internet connectivity. This Indian girl managed to find a temporary work...
Overwhelmed by the constant negative reports from government authorities and medical experts, one day I started to look for positive news to cheer myself up. Luckily, I soon realised that many new initiatives support a new way of collaborative business across sectors. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: “We are in this together – and we will get through this, together”. Civil society and the private sector have rapidly come up with many innovative ideas and have been supporting people...