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Advocating For a Better Economic Environment for Refugees
Refugee youth in Kakuma Refugee camp embody the endurance of the human spirit. A study carried out by the International Financial Corporation (IFC) in 2018 took a unique look at Kakuma Refugee Camp a...
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Catallactic Competition

Not that I want to bore you with an economic theory discussion, but I was going through "Human Action" by Ludwig von Misses and thought that his comments on free competition merit your interest.  Economists, Misses argues, generally advocate for free competition - one means of achieving it, for e...

Upping the Ante for Anti-Corruption

CIPE's programs around the world have always included a strong component focusing on anti-corruption.  Today, CIPE works with partners in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Columbia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Mozambique, the Philippines, and Russia to eliminate corrupt practices at all levels of society. ...

Stepping Nimbly in Cambodia’s Market

As I walk through a produce market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia I'm glad that I spent some of my younger years learning kung fu. Not because I ever feel threatened in any way. The case is quite the opposite, actually. If anyone seems overtly curious about me as I snap pictures with my conspicuously large...

Limits to Liberal Democracy

Gorbachev reflects on the cult of personality, current political situation in Russia, media freedom, and other geo-political issues in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.  On the state of democracy in Russia:  I think any extreme is flawed. There are some that say the government m...

Employment Security: Employee vs. Employer Perspectives

French youth's protests against labor market reforms have far reaching implications for all countries around the world, not just France, struggling to integrate young people into the labor market.  Two quotes from the Christian Science Monitor's story on this capture the essence of the debate wel...

New Democracy Fund

The recently established U.N. Democracy Fund was inaugurated yesterday with pledges of $41 million from 17 countries, U.S. and India providing the most money.  In the description of what types of initiatives this fund will provide support for, there are all the right words - from democratic inst...

Food Aid or Food Aids?

Check out this interview (part 1 and part 2) with Michael Maren in "The African Executive," a magazine published by CIPE partner Inter Region Economic Network (IREN).  Michael Maren has some strong statements in the interview, but it all comes down to one thing - his major argument seems to be t...

Media Group in Kenya Raided

Heavily armed and masked police commandos smashed printing presses and seized transmission equipment Thursday in raids on Kenya's second-largest media company, while three reporters were charged with creating public alarm in what officials said was a national security case... The raid is linked to t...

Moral Capitalism

I was at a discussion yesterday on the merits of moral capitalism and while listening to the presenter, tried to figure out what really are negative perceptions of capitalism all about.  The discussion focused on the moral aspects of doing business, the value systems and religious underpinnings of ...

Elections in South Africa

The disparities between South Africa's mainly middle-class beneficiaries of economic transformation and their less well-off countrymen has been brought into focus during the run-up to local government elections on 1 March. Sporadic violent protest against the slow pace of service delivery across th...

Economic Bridges Between the Koreas

South Korea is utilizing the economic advantages of Kaesong Industrial Park in North Korea.  Low wages, of course, is one of the major attractions for South Korean firms, but other incentives also seem to be in place. South Korean company presidents interviewed here predicted that their operations ...

Cheap Food in Venezuela

Food is cheap in Venezuela and some people even get it for free.  Its made possible through government established price controls.  Price controls were established a few years ago to safeguard the poor, but it seems that now they are achieving just the opposite - they are hurting, not helping th...

Informality in Guatemala: A Growing Problem

The National Economic Research Center (CIEN) released some initial findings of its CIPE sponsored informal sector project this past week. According to their research, 75% of the economically active population in Guatemala is employed in the informal sector. This makes Guatemala the country with the ...

From Gang Members to Business Owners?

Did the title catch your eye?  Is it possible to turn the source of social unrest and instability into business people who contribute to the development of their countries, not stifle private enterprise?  See a full story via the PSD Blog....

The War on Poverty…in Africa

Kurt Hoffman of the Shell Foundation shares his views on combating poverty, leaving a place for charity as an important part of addressing immediate needs but putting emphasis on economic growth as an ultimate solution. Charity can undoubtedly be used to relieve suffering, educate children, provide ...

Management Quality and Productivity

A new study from McKinsey confirms the "common assumption" that management matters - well managed companies outperform their poorly managed competitors. We found a solid link between how well managers adopt proven best practices—such as lean-production methods on the shop floor and techniques for ...

Controlling the Internet

It is no secret that the Chinese government exerts heavy control over the Internet.  But if you think the government shuts down/controls access to only pro-market liberal websites, think again.  Apparently, the government has also shut down websites that are critical of free market reforms: China...

China Discriminating Against Russia?

A Russian Minister of Agriculture thinks China is discriminating against Russia: "I believe China is pursuing a discriminatory policy against Russia," Gordeev said, quoted by the Itar-Tass agency. He explained that "currently China is importing some 6-7 million tons of grain annually, but Russia is ...

Can We Interest You in Yet Another New Iraq Strategy?

Just today another deadly car bomb was set off at a marketplace in the suburbs of Baghdad, demonstrating the extremely difficult obstacles affecting the reconstruction of Iraq and its economy. Last week, the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy released its latest report on I...

Message in a Bottle

Some stories cry out to be told, even if they may not be told fully. Imagine sitting in a cell, shackled by a totalitarian regime because your political beliefs are strong enough to pose a real threat.  The food is nothing to write home about – but the intellectual fodder is another story. Your...
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