In order to catalyse economic activity and pull Japan from its two-decade period of deflationary recession, new Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has enacted a bold recovery strategy. Thus far, his programs have not yet yielded the dramatic shift that he hoped for. Below, Mitsuru Misawa explores and rates the projects, and outlines possible future courses.
By Rod MacRae, Elisabeth Abergel and Mustafa Koc
Traditional approaches to food and agriculture policy making in Canada are in question, with the realization that government policy goals, institutional arrangements and instruments are insufficient. Below, Rod MacRae, Elisabeth Abergel and Mustafa Koc consider the evolution of sustainable food systems, and argue for changes in the policymaking process.
By Sean Culey
Africa is at a tipping point. It is poised for growth, but the question is whether this growth will be based on sustainable foundations that benefit the majority, or on commodities that only benefit a few. Below, Sean Culey argues that Africa’s business leaders need to play a pivotal role, but only if these leaders learn from the mistakes of the rest of the world.
By Les Secular
Too many companies do not have adequate transfer pricing documentation and face potential penalties. Below, Les Secular argues that as tax officers receive more training on transfer pricing, and more businesses seek to expand their activities overseas, companies should be prepared.
A growing number of schools are using coaching to enhance teachers’ abilities to implement curriculum, manage their classrooms, and communicate effectively with students, parents and one another. The International Coach Federation (ICF) is the leading global organisation for coaches, and this article explores how the ICF helped Turkey’s Isikkent Schools to lay the groundwork for a program that went on to impact the lives of everyone affiliated with the Isikkent community.
By Adrián Blanco and Tomás Guerrero
Below, Adrián Blanco and Tomás Guerrero discuss ten economic trends shaping the global economy, including factors such as a multicurrency international monetary system, a revolution in energy, protectionism and demographic pressures.
Marcos Troyjo is Co-Director of the BRICLab at Columbia University, a special forum on Brazil, Russia, India and China at Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). He is also founder of the Center for Business Diplomacy, an independent think-tank on global entrepreneurship. Marcos was a speaker at the innovaBRICS & Beyond Conference in London on October 8th 2013, which gathered 220 delegates from 32 emerging markets to debate opportunities and obstacles for investment and growth in emerging markets.
By Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett
In 1979, Iran shocked the world—and directly confronted America’s hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East—by charting its own revolutionary course toward participatory Islamist governance and foreign policy independence. Over the past thirty-five years the Islamic Republic of Iran has held dozens of presidential, parliamentary, and local council elections and attained impressive developmental outcomes—including more progressive results at alleviating poverty, delivering health care, providing educational access, and (yes) expanding opportunities for women than the last shah’s regime ever achieved. Furthermore, the Islamic Republic has done these things while withstanding significant regional challenges and mounting pressure from the United States and its allies. Below, Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett suggest that like 1979, 2014 is likely to be, in unique ways, another Year of Iran, when Tehran’s foreign policy strategy will either finally compel Western acceptance of Iran’s sovereign rights—especially to enrich uranium under international safeguards—or fundamentally delegitimise America’s already eroding pretensions to Middle Eastern hegemony.
Numerous international scandals have created a sense that the moral fiber of our companies is poor. Below, David De Cremer considers why it is so difficult to make responsible leadership a part of contemporary corporate culture, and argues that as a collective we need to work on the management of responsibility in business.
By Aniceto Masferrer and Clive Walker
Terrorist attacks in the last decade have profoundly altered and reshaped the priorities of many legal systems. Below, Aniceto Masferrer and Clive Walker suggest the important theme of crossing legal categories represents a recurrent issue which underlies counter-terrorism laws, and argue that boundary-crossing must be considered carefully, without any expectation that it will deliver greater security.
