EMERGING MARKETS DEVELOPMENT
March 2008
Starved for Science: How Biotechnology is Being Kept Out of Africa
Book
By Robert Paarlberg, Former Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 2007-2008
Heading upcountry in Africa to visit small farms is absolutely exhilarating given the dramatic beauty of big skies, red soil, and arid vistas, but eventually the two-lane tarmac narrows to rutted dirt, and the journey must continue on foot. The farmers you eventually meet are mostly women, hardworking but visibly poor. They have no improved seeds, no chemical fertilizers, no irrigation, and with their meager crops they earn less than a dollar a day. Many are malnourished.
Nearly two-thirds of Africans are employed in agriculture, yet on a per-capita basis they produce roughly 20 percent less than they did in 1970. Although modern agricultural science was the key to reducing rural poverty in Asia, modern farm science—including biotechnology—has recently been kept out of Africa.
February 7, 2008
Vegetable Oil Based Biofuels in India
Discussion Paper
This paper addresses two key questions: What is the economic potential of biofuel development in India? And what are the obstacles to this development? It traces the economics at each stage in the production chain – from harvesting to processing to transportation; provides an overview of the industry’s economics and details the requirements at each stage of the value chain for the industry to reach its potential; and shows how the vegetable oil biofuels sector can provide substantial benefits to the rural poor in India while addressing the risks and threats of the biofuel industry development.
June 2008
"The Truth about Food"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Prospect, issue 147
By Robert Paarlberg, Former Research Fellow, Science, Technology, and Globalization Project/Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program, 2007-2008
"...it is a mistake to see high prices as a proxy for actual hunger. Most of the world's hungry citizens do not get their food from the world market, and most who rely on the world market are not poor or vulnerable to hunger."
AP Photo
March 14, 2008
The Transfer of Power in Russia
Memorandum
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
Though the outcome of the presidential election in Russia was a foregone conclusion, many questions remain about when and how which powers will be transferred from whom to whom. Also included below are speculations from Russian colleagues about what the new administration and cabinet may look like.
AP Photo
May 1, 2009
"U.S.-China Relations: Key Next Steps"
News
By Beth Maclin, Communications Assistant
With the United States and China expected to be the two dominant powers in the twenty-first century, it is essential that they actively manage their relationship to avoid military conflict, a group of distinguished Chinese and American scholars said at a major conference in Washington, D.C. The scholars—from Harvard Kennedy School, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and elsewhere—have worked together for more than two years to create a blueprint for a new relationship between the two countries.
October 14, 2008
"Economic Realities Must Guide Africa's Constitutional Reform Efforts"
News
By Beth Maclin, Communications Assistant
"African countries need new constitutional orders to cope with modern economic challenges, Calestous Juma said at a recent lecture....A major challenge is based in the constitutions and laws left behind for the newly liberated countries. 'What was being negotiated as independence was really an exercise in constitutional continuity from the colonial period through independence,' Juma said....While there is enormous pressure on African countries to focus on economic programs, they are unable to because the governmental framework left behind did not integrate the economic role of the colonizer into the new role of president."
Photo by Martha Stewart
Summer 2009
"Economic Experts Suggest Causes, Next Steps for Economy"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Sasha Talcott, Director of Communications and Outreach
Global leaders are facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Though Lawrence Summers, on leave from Harvard Kennedy School and the Belfer Center to serve as director of the National Economic Council, predicted that the sense of "freefall" may end in the next several months, a recovery is likely to still be some distance away. Belfer Center experts offer their thoughts on where the situation is headed, and what policymakers should do now.
Summer 2008
"Hot Off the Presses"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
Recently published books authored or edited by Belfer Center faculty, staff, students and affiliates.
Winter 2007-2008
"Q&A: Xenia Dormandy"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The Project on India and the Subcontinent is a new initiative of the Belfer Center, directed by former Executive Director for Research Xenia Dormandy. Its mission is to build knowledge, leadership, and recommendations on key policy-critical issues related to the rise of India and South Asia. Dormandy answered the following questions about the new project.
Spring 2000
Mark Your Calendars For Russian Investment Symposium
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
The U.S.-Russian Investment Symposium has emerged as the leading forum for business leaders and others interested in actively supporting Russia's important economic transition.
