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The United States Postal Service is Worth Saving

05.29.20

5980 miles. That’s the distance between Shishmaref, Alaska and Boston, Massachusetts. That’s about the same distance from Boston to Mongolia. The cost to send a letter from one point to the other? 55 cents. The same cost to send a letter from Boston to Cambridge. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented economic and financial […]

Public Finance

Ending the Gun Violence Epidemic

05.19.20

Two deadly epidemics threaten the lives of Americans. Both have cost too many of us our loved ones, imposed relentless burdens on our healthcare professionals, and affected all communities, while disproportionately harming communities of color.  The first is a global threat that originated in nature and will take all the scientific prowess and ingenuity we […]

Public Leadership and Management

Can Farmers Save Our Food System?

05.14.20

Diet-related diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. Poor diet is associated with ailments such as heart disease, cancer, and Type 2 diabetes, which together kill nearly 678,000 Americans annually — a number that far exceeds current projected deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S.[i] Having worked in both the farming and […]

Healthcare

Germany Drew the Wrong Lessons From Its 1923 Hyperinflation

05.12.20

In recent years, the political discourse in Germany has been critical of the European Union and its institutions. This includes harsh criticism of the European Central Bank (ECB) regarding its response to the Euro crisis. One focal point of this criticism related to the ECB’s purchases of government debt, particularly its program of “Outright Monetary […]

Interview with Dr. Joseph Agyepong, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies

04.28.20

During his recent visit at Harvard University, Dr. Joseph Agyepong, one of Ghana’s most successful businessmen answered APJ’s questions.

Business and Regulation

Not So Plum: The Shortcomings of the Plum Book and Tracking Political Appointments

01.23.20

Introduction “Personnel is policy” was a popular motto in the Reagan administration. Today, the phrase continues to ring true as political appointments remain vacant and appointees are hired to run agencies that they once wanted to dismantle.[1],[2] Presidents have immense power to influence the policy-making process through their personnel choices. Most of the federal government’s […]

Democracy and Governance

Interview of Dr. Albert Zeufack, World Bank’s Chief Economist for Africa

12.31.19

Dr. Albert Zeufack sat with our lead interview editor, Mez Belo-Osagie.  Dr. Zeufack answered questions on a wide variety of topics including his career path in academia and policy-making, digitization, Africa’s infrastructure gap, and Chinese engagement with the African continent.

Globalization

Interest Rates Must Remain Disinterested: The Growing Threat to Central Bank Independence and Why It Must Be Preserved

12.17.19

Of the many possible sites for a heated political showdown, the target federal funds rate hardly registers on the front lines. Yet in December 2018, US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to decry the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise its benchmark rate. Breaking more than two decades of White House silence on monetary […]

Mergers and Acquisitions under ECOWAS Competition Law

11.12.19

Introduction As markets mature and become concentrated, entities merge and acquire others to achieve economies of scale. Such combinations are likely to create powerful companies which have the capacity to control the market and reduce competition. In his Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith captures what may become […]

Business and Regulation

The Fault Lines in India’s Entrepreneurship Policy: Examining Startup India

10.17.19

On the brisk morning of August 15, 2015, as India celebrated its 69th Independence Day, prime minister Modi introduced “Start-up India, Stand-up India,” to the country for the first time. Five months later, Modi officially launched the initiative amidst much fanfare, with a vision of creating a supportive ecosystem for entrepreneurs and transforming India into […]

Development and Economic Growth

An Old Formula Could Stop This U.S.–China Trade War

10.2.19

In March 2018, President Trump stated that ‘trade wars are good, and easy to win’ as he sparked a trade war with China to fight what he called the country’s unfair bilateral trade balance and intellectual property theft. The trade war has taken longer than expected to “win,” especially as rhetoric on both sides heats […]

Development and Economic Growth

Why We Keep Doing Things We Know Don’t Work

10.1.19

Every year in the United States, roughly $4 billion are spent performing 700,000 surgeries that we know don’t work.[1],[2] Why? In part because, on a superficial level, it sounds so plausible. This procedure, an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, is a knee surgery that purports to relieve pain by trimming a frayed meniscus to return it to […]

Decision Making and Negotiation

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