International trade is under strain and backward-looking trade negotiation strategies play a role in building up this pressure. Drawing on the World Input-Output Database, Andrea Andrenelli adopts a global Leontief approach and develops three indices to make trade policymaking fit for the era of global value chains.
The rise of populism and the growing political polarization in advanced economies has exposed the phenomenon of spatial inequality. Globalization and digitalization amplify spatial inequalities by further concentrating “gains” and “losses.” For policymakers, confronting this complex problem without promising a “return to the past” is the challenge of our time.
Which policies should states adopt to bring peace to conflict-ridden areas around the globe?
This question is at the forefront of global and national political debates and the recent 72nd United Nations General Assembly session has shown an international community at a crossroads. Decisive steps in foreign and security policy beyond national self-interest are needed to ensure a path to a more peaceful world.
Current urbanization rates will lead to an increased concentration of people and economic activities in megacities, offering both opportunities and dangers for sustainability. Future development strategies should focus on achieving low-carbon urban growth. At the same time, cities need to take a more active role in seeking inter-urban cooperation.
While governments quarrel over closed borders, unaccompanied children that migrate to Europe in hope of a better life are often detained in inadequate conditions facing life threatening dangers, missing critical months of schooling and undergoing hardship that no person should endure, let alone a child. There is a need for harmonization of protection standards at the European level and a total abolition of the practice of detaining unaccompanied migrant children.
The European Union’s reaction to the so-called “refugee crisis“ has mainly included intensified externalization of migration controls. This approach is counterproductive because it exacerbates vulnerabilities, strengthens transnational criminal networks and blocks political capital for sustainable solutions. A new approach to European migration policy is urgently needed.