In 2009, a group of academics, policy makers, and industry professionals came together and created the Desertec Industrial Initiative (DII) and the DESERTEC Foundation with the goal of meeting 15% of Europe’s electricity needs and two thirds of the Middle East and North Africa’s electricity needs with renewable power generated in the deserts of northern […]

Meet America’s new ally in Africa. With 16 million people, a per capita income of $360 (PPP),52,875 refugees, and dysfunctional neighbors, Niger seems less than the ideal partner in the growing U.S. strategic footprint in Africa, but its geographic location places it at the frontlines.Landlocked between the hotbed of Mali and the oil basin in […]

BY VIVEK CHILUKURI When President Obama announced an ambitious plan to reduce gun violence, he surrounded himself with children. By invoking their safety as his chief aim, the president imbued his efforts with our deeply felt and universal impulse to protect the young. When it comes to protecting their futures, however, Washington has shown no […]

 Introduction Sierra Leone is consistently ranked among the countries with the highest maternal mortality ratio (970 per 100,000) and women in Sierra Leone have a 1 in 21 lifetime risk of dying as a result of pregnancy.  Despite some progress, Sierra Leone still ranks 5th in the world for countries with the highest under-five mortality […]

On July 09, 2012, the Republic of South Sudan celebrated its first year anniversary. The previous year, on November 11, 2011, it submitted an application to formally join the East African Community (EAC), a regional organization consisting of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Tanzania. South Sudan, a landlocked country in East Africa, emerged from four […]

Overview: illustrating the challenge in supporting producers and consumers through agricultural policies A pressing challenge facing Ethiopia today is one that has long been a dilemma facing many African governments. This paper discusses the challenge of supporting smallholder farmers while ensuring benefits for consumers. Attaining a balance often involves a tradeoff when policy and economic […]

Abstract Delivering health services to vulnerable populations is a significant challenge in many countries. Groups vulnerable to social, economic, and environmental challenges may not be considered or may be impacted adversely by the health policies that guide such services.We report on the application of EquiFrame, a novel policy analysis framework, to ten Namibian health policies, […]

In 1961, I received an invitation from Sargent Shriver to join the newly created Peace Corps. I was a 1959 alumna of the Experiment in International Living that had been directed by Shriver. My husband and I applied and on May 22nd of that year received a congratulatory letter signed by John F. Kennedy. By […]

By Zach Crowley MC-MPA ’13 and Richard Witt MC-MPA’13 Many Americans own assault rifles and large magazine clips, and no one has yet offered a widely-accepted policy for keeping these weapons away from unstable Americans who might use them for tragic purposes.  Common sense dictates that American liberty must be preserved, but common sense also […]

By Cristina Garmendia, MPP ’13, Correspondent Mat Morgan took it as a good sign when Forbes told him the headshot he provided them was terrible. A few weeks and one hastily-taken replacement photo later – courtesy of a friend with an iPhone – Morgan was recognized in Forbes Magazine for being one of their “30 […]

By Anthony Barrows, MC/MPA ’13, Staff Writer Valentine’s Day has come and gone, but HKS students know that we don’t need a manufactured holiday to give us an excuse for a nice night out with a sweetheart. These three restaurants are all fine places to impress a date. Marliave One of my favorite restaurants of […]

The announcement of Geoffrey Canada as the HKS 2013 Graduation Speaker evoked quite a bit of discussion.  In a Harvard Kennedy School group on Facebook.com, a thread on the choice of speaker exploded – at last count, there were 47 comments. We invited quite a few of these students to share their views with the […]