or As conflict intensifies in Nigeria’s North East, so too does a reliance on troubled militias By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2020 13:58:17 +0000 Since 2009, Boko Haram has caused devastating insecurity, impoverishment, displacement, and other suffering in Nigeria’s poor and arid North East region. Although the Nigerian government and military mobilized against the group between 2015 and 2018, intense insecurity and violence not only persist, but have actually increased since 2018. In the past two years, the Nigerian… Full Article
or Insight 219: Singapore in the Global Energy Transition By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Dec 3, 2019 Dec 3, 2019For decades, Singapore has been a premier refinery hub and gatekeeper between Asia and the Middle East, but its position is increasingly threatened as producer countries are shifting into the downstream activities that helped make Singapore the “Houston of Asia”. Oil and petrochemicals drive about one quarter of Singapore’s net exports. Greater competition in the global oil and gas value chain could take a heavy toll on the city-state’s national budget and economic growth prospects. Full Article
or Why the U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord is a Mistake By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Dec 4, 2019 Dec 4, 2019The authors explain why the Trump administration's reiteration of its intent to finalize U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is a tragic mistake that will weaken us as a nation. Full Article
or Study Group on Energy Innovation and the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: Advising Fortune 500 Companies By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 19, 2020 Feb 19, 2020This study group will explore the role of the private sector in evolving energy systems, and how corporations might change in a climate constrained world. Full Article
or Geopolitical and Market Implications of Renewable Hydrogen: New Dependencies in a Low-Carbon Energy World By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 4, 2020 Mar 4, 2020To accelerate the global transition to a low-carbon economy, all energy systems and sectors must be actively decarbonized. While hydrogen has been a staple in the energy and chemical industries for decades, renewable hydrogen is drawing increased attention today as a versatile and sustainable energy carrier with the potential to play an important piece in the carbon-free energy puzzle. Countries around the world are piloting new projects and policies, yet adopting hydrogen at scale will require innovating along the value chains; scaling technologies while significantly reducing costs; deploying enabling infrastructure; and defining appropriate national and international policies and market structures. What are the general principles of how renewable hydrogen may reshape the structure of global energy markets? What are the likely geopolitical consequences such changes would cause? A deeper understanding of these nascent dynamics will allow policy makers and corporate investors to better navigate the challenges and maximize the opportunities that decarbonization will bring, without falling into the inefficient behaviors of the past. Full Article
or Urban Waste to Energy Recovery Assessment Simulations for Developing Countries By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 26, 2020 Mar 26, 2020In this paper, a quantitative Waste to Energy Recovery Assessment (WERA) framework is used to stochastically analyze the feasibility of waste-to-energy systems in selected cities in Asia. Full Article
or Harvard Business School Professor Rebecca Henderson Outlines Ways Organizations are Changing in Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic and Climate Change in New Edition of "Environmental Insights" By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 8, 2020 Apr 8, 2020Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, shared her perspectives on how large organizations are changing in response to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change in the newest episode of "Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program," a podcast produced by the Harvard Environmental Economics Program. Listen to the interview here. Listen to the interview here. Full Article
or Organizational Responses to COVID-19 and Climate Change: A Conversation with Rebecca Henderson By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 8, 2020 Apr 8, 2020Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard University, shared her perspectives on how large organizations are changing in response to the coronavirus pandemic and climate change in the newest episode of “Environmental Insights: Discussions on Policy and Practice from the Harvard Environmental Economics Program.” Full Article
or No, the Coronavirus Will Not Change the Global Order By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 16, 2020 Apr 16, 2020Joseph Nye advises skepticism toward claims that the pandemic changes everything. China won't benefit, and the United States will remain preeminent. Full Article
or Low Prices, Full Storage Tanks: What's Next for the Oil Industry By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 30, 2020 Apr 30, 2020When the economy slows, so does the demand for oil. Prices have plummeted and storage tanks are filled to capacity. We look at the future of the oil industry. Full Article
or Expanding Apprenticeship Opportunities in the United States By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Reducing inequality and expanding opportunity are central challenges increasingly acknowledged by leaders across the political spectrum. Policymakers generally agree that one key solution is to prepare young people and adults with the skills to earn a good income. Unlike other advanced countries, however, reform proposals in the United States have typically included little or nothing about apprenticeship—a highly cost-effective mechanism for developing workplace skills and for reducing youth unemployment. However, interest in apprenticeship models is building in the United States, partly because of the recent successes of Britain and South Carolina in stimulating major expansions of apprenticeship training. A robust apprenticeship system is especially attractive because of its potential to reduce youth unemployment, improve the transition from school to career, upgrade skills, raise wages of young adults, strengthen a young worker’s identity, increase U.S. productivity, achieve positive returns for employers and workers, and use limited federal resources more effectively. Apprenticeship prepares workers to master occupational skills and achieve career success. Under apprenticeship programs, individuals undertake productive work for their employer, earn a salary, receive training primarily through supervised work‐ based learning, and take academic instruction that is related to the apprenticeship occupation. The programs generally last from two to four years. Apprenticeship helps workers to master not only relevant occupational skills, but also other work‐related skills, including communication, problem solving, allocation of resources, and dealing with supervisors and a diverse set of coworkers. The course work is generally equivalent to at least one year of community college. Completing apprenticeship training yields a recognized and valued credential attesting to mastery of skill required in the relevant occupation. Unlike the normal part-time jobs held by high school and college students, apprenticeship integrates what young people learn on the job and in the classroom. Box 7-1 describes a successful youth apprenticeship program in Georgia. (See the PDF for Box 7-1). In some ways, apprenticeship offers an alternative to the “academic-only” college focus of U.S. policymakers. Increasingly, placing all of our career-preparation eggs in one basket is leaving young adults, especially minority young men, well behind. Among young adults ages twenty-five to thirty-four in 2013, 49 percent of all women and 37 percent of African American women had earned at least an Associate degree; for men, the comparable figures were 40 percent and 28 percent, respectively. Furthermore, in 2011–12, nearly two African American women earned a bachelor’s degree for every African American male who earned one (National Center for Education Statistics 2013). Despite the well-documented high average returns to college, variations in interests, capacities, and learning styles suggest many young people would benefit far more from alternative pathways to rewarding careers than they do from academic-only pathways. Apprenticeship can narrow the postsecondary achievement gaps in both gender and race. Having learning take place mostly on the job, making the tasks and classroom work highly relevant to their careers, and providing participants with wages while they learn are especially beneficial to men, particularly minority men. Apprenticeship can give minorities increased confidence that their personal efforts and investment in skill development will pay off, giving graduates a genuine sense of occupational identity and occupational pride. Additionally, apprenticeship is a useful tool for enhancing youth development. Young people work with natural adult mentors who offer guidance but allow youth to make their own mistakes (Halpern 2009). Youth see themselves judged by the established standards of a discipline, including deadlines and the genuine constraints and unexpected difficulties that arise in the profession. Supervisors provide the close monitoring and frequent feedback that helps apprentices keep their focus on performing well at the work site and in the classroom. Furthermore, apprenticeship is distinctive in enhancing both the worker supply side and the employer demand side of the labor market. On the supply side, the financial gains to apprenticeship are strikingly high. U.S. studies indicate that apprentices do not have to sacrifice earnings during their education and training and that their long-term earnings benefits exceed the gains they would have accumulated after graduating from community college (Hollenbeck 2008). The latest reports from the state of Washington show that the gains in earnings from various education and training programs far surpass the gains from all other alternatives (Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board 2014). A broad study of apprenticeship in ten states also documents large and statistically significant earnings gains from participating in apprenticeship programs (Reed et al. 2012). On the demand side, employers can feel comfortable upgrading their jobs knowing that their apprenticeship programs will ensure an adequate supply of well-trained workers. High levels of apprenticeship activity in Australia, Canada, and Britain demonstrate that even companies in labor markets with few restrictions on hiring, firing, and wages are willing to invest in apprenticeship training. While no rigorous evidence is available about apprenticeship’s costs and benefits to U.S. employers, research in other countries indicates that employers gain financially from their apprenticeship investments (Lerman 2014). In general, firms reap several advantages from their apprenticeship investments. They save significant sums in recruitment and training costs, in reduced errors in placing employees, in excessive costs when the demand for skilled workers cannot be quickly filled, and in all employees being well versed with company procedures. One benefit to firms that is rarely captured in studies is the positive impact of apprenticeship on innovation. Well-trained workers are more likely to understand the complexities of a firm’s production processes and therefore to identify and implement technological improvements, especially incremental innovations to improve existing products and processes. A study of German establishments documents this connection and finds a clear relationship between the extent of in-company training and subsequent innovation (Bauernschuster, Falck, and Heblich 2009). In the United States, evidence from surveys of more than 900 employers indicates that the overwhelming majority of them believe their programs are valuable and involve net gains (Lerman, Eyster, and Chambers 2009). Nearly all sponsors reported that apprenticeship programs help them meet their skill demands—87 percent reported that they would strongly recommend registered apprenticeship programs, and another 11 percent recommended apprenticeship programs with some reservations. Other benefits of apprenticeship include reliably documenting appropriate skills, raising worker productivity, increasing worker morale, and reducing safety problems. While apprenticeship offers a productivity-enhancing approach to reducing inequality and expanding opportunity, activity in the United States has declined in recent years to levels about one-tenth of those in Australia, Canada, and Britain. Some believe the problems include inadequate information and familiarity with apprenticeship, an inadequate infrastructure, and expectations that sufficient skills will emerge from community college programs. Others see the main problem as an unwillingness of U.S. companies to invest, no matter how favorable government subsidies and marketing policies are. In considering these explanations, we should remember that even in countries with robust apprenticeship systems, only a minority of firms actually hires apprentices. Since the number of apprenticeship applicants already far exceeds the number of apprenticeship slots, the main problem today is to increase the number of apprenticeship openings that employers offer. Counseling young people about potential apprenticeship opportunities is a sensible complementary strategy to working with the companies, but encouraging interest in apprenticeship could be counterproductive without a major increase in apprenticeship slots. Developing a more robust support system for apprenticeship programs requires action at various levels of government. This proposal consists of a series of targeted initiatives that rely on both state and federal support. At the state level, governments could develop marketing campaigns to persuade employers to create apprenticeship programs, and to build on existing youth apprenticeship programs. At the federal level, the government could provide federal subsidies to encourage take-up of existing vouchers for apprenticeship programs; designate occupational standards for apprenticeship through a joint Office of Apprenticeship (OA)–Department of Commerce (Commerce) team; and develop an infrastructure of information, peer support, and research within the Departments of Commerce and Labor. Downloads Expanding Apprenticeship Opportunities in the United States - Full Text Authors Robert Lerman Publication: The Hamilton Project Full Article
or Section 2: Supporting Disadvantaged Youth By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Full Article
or Section 4: Improving Safety Net and Work Support By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 00:00:00 -0400 Full Article
or Serving the underserved in workforce development: A Q&A with Beth Weigensberg By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 01 Sep 2015 15:00:00 -0400 Improving data in the field of workforce development is a necessary step to evaluating programs and replicating success. What does current data tell us about the populations served? What outcomes should we measure to ensure programs are meeting America’s workforce development needs? Earlier this month, we convened an expert group of policy makers, practitioners and scholars to address this problem, along with other challenges in workforce development. Previously, we interviewed Kate Blosveren Kreamer on the need to strengthen bridges from school to work. Next up in our Q&A series is Beth Weigensberg, a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research. Q: What important research questions remain unanswered in the area of workforce development? A: Although there is increasingly more rigorous research to assess effectiveness of programs, I feel a missing piece is understanding how to replicate and scale-up effective strategies. Often times workforce development programs that are deemed effective in one place do not always succeed when implemented in another. Research that evaluates effectiveness of programs should assess the role of contextual factors (including organizational, leadership, community, and political factors) to identify what is needed to successfully implement, replicate, and scale successful programs. Q: You mentioned that you often think about the unemployed populations that are harder to serve. Who are some of these underserved populations, and what workforce development programs work for them? A: The workforce development field has an unfortunate history of “creaming”—programs selectively work with individuals most likely to succeed at finding employment, leaving those “harder-to-serve” individuals struggling to find assistance. Individuals that are often considered “hard-to-serve” include those who are homeless, disabled, formerly incarcerated, older workers, non-English speakers, low-income, and youth who are disconnected from school and employment. Increasing efforts to focus on these “harder-to-serve” populations include specialized targeted programs and strategies to help address the complex needs of these individuals, which often extend beyond skill development and finding a job. These specialized programs often provide additional support services to help address their complex needs, which can serve as additional barriers to obtaining and retaining employment. Q: What improvements can be made to better measure success? A: Intermediate measures of engagement and skill development would provide interim measures of progress, while the ultimate objectives are obviously employment and educational attainment. Ongoing evaluation on interim measures allows for earlier acknowledgment of achievement and identification of those struggling to progress. Assessing outcomes in ways that control for different populations or barriers to employment, such as using risk-adjusted methodologies, can help us evaluate workforce development programs in an equitable manner. One of the biggest challenges in the field is ensuring we have valid and reliable data to accurately estimate outcomes. The data available to assess outcomes are usually limited by what is collected in management information systems, which are often developed to be responsive to reporting requirements of publically-funded programs. But these siloed data do not allow for comprehensive assessment of workforce development outcomes within a state, locality, or even within a community-based employment and training organization that relies on numerous funding sources. Efforts are needed to integrate data and assess standardized outcome measures across program and funding silos to allow for more comprehensive assessment of outcomes within the field. Authors Beth AkersEllie Klein Image Source: © David Ryder / Reuters Full Article
or Helping Americans work more and gain skills for higher-paying jobs is vital for boosting mobility By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 03 Dec 2015 00:01:00 -0500 Improving the labor market and encouraging work are central to our goals of achieving greater responsibility and opportunity in America. The private economy is the arena where most Americans work hard to realize their dreams. But employment today is failing to achieve the promise it did a few decades ago. Wages of unskilled workers have been fairly stagnant in real terms (especially among men) and have fallen relative to those of more-educated workers; and some groups of Americans (like less-educated men generally and black men, specifically) are working considerably less than they once did. Stagnant wages and low work participation among some groups of workers are blocking progress. Both must be addressed. In Chapter 4 of a new report from the AEI-Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity, the Working Group recommends policies that: Expand opportunities for the disadvantaged by improving their skills; Make work pay better than it does now for the less educated; Expand both work requirements and opportunities for the hard-to-employ while maintaining an effective work-based safety net for the most vulnerable members of our society, especially children; and Make more jobs available. Downloads Download Chapter 4: WorkExplore the full report Authors AEI-Brookings Working Group on Poverty and Opportunity Full Article
or Money for nothing: Why a universal basic income is a step too far By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 15 Jun 2016 12:00:00 -0400 The idea of a universal basic income (UBI) is certainly an intriguing one, and has been gaining traction. Swiss voters just turned it down. But it is still alive in Finland, in the Netherlands, in Alaska, in Oakland, CA, and in parts of Canada. Advocates of a UBI include Charles Murray on the right and Anthony Atkinson on the left. This surprising alliance alone makes it interesting, and it is a reasonable response to a growing pool of Americans made jobless by the march of technology and a safety net that is overly complex and bureaucratic. A comprehensive and excellent analysis in The Economist points out that while fears about technological unemployment have previously proved misleading, “the past is not always a good guide to the future.” Hurting the poor Robert Greenstein argues, however, that a UBI would actually hurt the poor by reallocating support up the income scale. His logic is inescapable: either we have to spend additional trillions providing income grants to all Americans or we have to limit assistance to those who need it most. One option is to provide unconditional payments along the lines of a UBI, but to phase it out as income rises. Libertarians like this approach since it gets rid of bureaucracies and leaves the poor free to spend the money on whatever they choose, rather than providing specific funds for particular needs. Liberals fear that such unconditional assistance would be unpopular and would be an easy target for elimination in the face of budget pressures. Right now most of our social programs are conditional. With the exception of the aged and the disabled, assistance is tied to work or to the consumption of necessities such as food, housing, or medical care, and our two largest means-tested programs are Food Stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit. The case for paternalism Liberals have been less willing to openly acknowledge that a little paternalism in social policy may not be such a bad thing. In fact, progressives and libertarians alike are loath to admit that many of the poor and jobless are lacking more than just cash. They may be addicted to drugs or alcohol, suffer from mental health issues, have criminal records, or have difficulty functioning in a complex society. Money may be needed but money by itself does not cure such ills. A humane and wealthy society should provide the disadvantaged with adequate services and support. But there is nothing wrong with making assistance conditional on individuals fulfilling some obligation whether it is work, training, getting treatment, or living in a supportive but supervised environment. In the end, the biggest problem with a universal basic income may not be its costs or its distributive implications, but the flawed assumption that money cures all ills. Authors Isabel V. Sawhill Image Source: © Tom Polansek / Reuters Full Article
or Coronavirus will harm America’s international students—and the universities they attend By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 17 Mar 2020 20:02:35 +0000 With the growing outbreak of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, universities around the U.S. are canceling in-person classes, clamping down on travel, and sending students home. Protecting the health of students and staff, and limiting community transmission, is the most important priority. After taking care of emergency measures, universities need to be making administrative… Full Article
or Class Notes: Selective College Admissions, Early Life Mortality, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 25 Mar 2020 18:36:42 +0000 This week in Class Notes: The Texas Top Ten Percent rule increased equity and economic efficiency. There are big gaps in U.S. early-life mortality rates by family structure. Locally-concentrated income shocks can persistently change the distribution of poverty within a city. Our top chart shows how income inequality changed in the United States between 2007 and 2016. Tammy Kim describes the effect of the… Full Article
or 8 recommendations for universities and professors during the coronavirus pandemic By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 03 Apr 2020 19:07:23 +0000 Over 200 colleges and universities have closed in the United States due to the coronavirus pandemic. Some have canceled in-person classes for the rest of the spring 2020 semester, while others have canceled graduation. Universities are trying to make decisions in a fluid and unprecedented environment. Professors and instructors face their own challenges as they… Full Article
or Class Notes: College ‘Sticker Prices,’ the Gender Gap in Housing Returns, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 08 Apr 2020 15:48:43 +0000 This week in Class Notes: Fear of Ebola was a powerful force in shaping the 2014 midterm elections. Increases in the “sticker price” of a college discourage students from applying, even when they would be eligible for financial aid. The gender gap in housing returns is large and can explain 30% of the gender gap in wealth accumulation at retirement.… Full Article
or Coronavirus poses serious financial risks to US universities By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Tue, 21 Apr 2020 15:27:39 +0000 Universities around the country are dealing with health concerns as their first priority, and keeping instruction going—even if imperfectly—as the second priority. After dealing with these immediate issues, the next concern is fear of collapsing revenue. Health and instruction deserve every bit of effort going into them. The extent of worry about collapsing revenue isn’t… Full Article
or Webinar: Great levelers or great stratifiers? College access, admissions, and the American middle class By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 13:23:37 +0000 One year after Operation Varsity Blues, and in the midst of one of the greatest crises higher education has ever seen, college admissions and access have never been more important. A college degree has long been seen as a ticket into the middle class, but it is increasingly clear that not all institutions lead to… Full Article
or Class Notes: Harvard Discrimination, California’s Shelter-in-Place Order, and More By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 08 May 2020 19:21:40 +0000 This week in Class Notes: California's shelter-in-place order was effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Asian Americans experience significant discrimination in the Harvard admissions process. The U.S. tax system is biased against labor in favor of capital, which has resulted in inefficiently high levels of automation. Our top chart shows that poor workers are much more likely to keep commuting in… Full Article
or The Overwhelming Case for No First Use By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Jan 13, 2020 Jan 13, 2020The arguments in favor of the United States' declaring that the only purpose of its nuclear weapons is to deter others who possess them from using theirs — in other words, that in no circumstances will this country use nuclear weapons first — are far stronger than the arguments against this stance. It must be hoped that the next US administration will take this no-first-use step promptly. Full Article
or Why is the United States So Bad at Foreign Policy? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Jan 13, 2020 Jan 13, 2020Stephen Walt writes that the United States' unusual historical experience, geographic isolation, large domestic market, and general ignorance have weakened its ability to make viable foreign-policy strategies. Full Article
or What Makes for a Moral Foreign Policy? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Jan 21, 2020 Jan 21, 2020Joseph Nye's new book rates the efforts of presidents from FDR to Trump. Full Article
or The Need for Creative and Effective Nuclear Security Vulnerability Assessment and Testing By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 10, 2020 Feb 10, 2020Realistic, creative vulnerability assessment and testing are critical to finding and fixing nuclear security weaknesses and avoiding over-confidence. Both vulnerability assessment and realistic testing are needed to ensure that nuclear security systems are providing the level of protection required. Systems must be challenged by experts thinking like adversaries, trying to find ways to overcome them. Effective vulnerability assessment and realistic testing are more difficult in the case of insider threats, and special attention is needed. Organizations need to find ways to give people the mission and the incentives to find nuclear security weaknesses and suggest ways they might be fixed. With the right approaches and incentives in place, effective vulnerability assessment and testing can be a key part of achieving and sustaining high levels of nuclear security. Full Article
or Arms Control Agreement With Russia Should Cover More Than Nuclear Weapons By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Feb 23, 2020 Feb 23, 2020With the Russia investigation and impeachment behind him, President Trump finally may feel empowered to engage with Russian President Vladimir Putin and pursue an arms control deal. Full Article
or How Do Past Presidents Rank in Foreign Policy? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 2, 2020 Mar 2, 2020How do presidents incorporate morality into decisions involving the national interest? Moral considerations explain why Truman, who authorized the use of nuclear weapons in Japan during World War II, later refused General MacArthur's request to use them in China during the Korean War. What is contextual intelligence, and how does it explain why Bush 41 is ranked first in foreign policy, but Bush 43 is found wanting? Is it possible for a president to lie in the service of the public interest? In this episode, Professor Joseph S. Nye considers these questions as he explores the role of morality in presidential decision-making from FDR to Trump. Full Article
or Budapest Memorandum at 25: Between Past and Future By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 17, 2020 Mar 17, 2020On December 5, 1994, leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation met in Budapest, Hungary, to pledge security assurances to Ukraine in connection with its accession to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as a non-nuclear-weapons state. The signature of the so-called Budapest Memorandum concluded arduous negotiations that resulted in Ukraine’s agreement to relinquish the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, which the country inherited from the collapsed Soviet Union, and transfer all nuclear warheads to Russia for dismantlement. The signatories of the memorandum pledged to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and inviolability of its borders, and to refrain from the use or threat of military force. Russia breached these commitments with its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and aggression in eastern Ukraine, bringing the meaning and value of security assurance pledged in the Memorandum under renewed scrutiny. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the memorandum’s signature, the Project on Managing the Atom at the Belfer Center for Science & International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, with the support of the Center for U.S.-Ukrainian Relations and the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute, hosted a conference to revisit the history of the Budapest Memorandum, consider the repercussions of its violation for international security and the broader nonproliferation regime, and draw lessons for the future. The conference brought together academics, practitioners, and experts who have contributed to developing U.S. policy toward post-Soviet nuclear disarmament, participated in the negotiations of the Budapest Memorandum, and dealt with the repercussions of its breach in 2014. The conference highlighted five key lessons learned from the experience of Ukraine’s disarmament, highlighted at the conference. Full Article
or Public Testimony on Trump Administration Funding for Nuclear Theft Preventing Programs By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 31, 2020 Mar 31, 2020A nuclear explosion detonated anywhere by a terrorist group would be a global humanitarian, economic, and political catastrophe. The current COVID-19 pandemic reminds us not to ignore prevention of and preparation for low-probability, high-consequence disasters. For nuclear terrorism, while preparation is important, prevention must be the top priority. The most effective strategy for keeping nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists is to ensure that nuclear materials and facilities around the world have strong and sustainable security. Every president for more than two decades has made strengthening nuclear security around the globe a priority. This includes the Trump administration, whose 2018 Nuclear Posture Review states: “[n]uclear terrorism remains among the most significant threats to the security of the United States, allies, and partners.” Full Article
or So Do Morals Matter in U.S. Foreign Policy? I Asked the Expert. By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 24, 2020 Apr 24, 2020In his new book, Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump, Joseph S. Nye developed a scorecard to determine how U.S. presidents since 1945 factored questions of ethics and morality into their foreign policy. In an interview, Henry Farrell asked him a few questions to get to the heart of his findings. Full Article
or Maxwell Taylor's Cold War: From Berlin to Vietnam By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: May 6, 2020 May 6, 2020Nathaniel Moir reviews Maxwell Taylor's Cold War: From Berlin to Vietnam by Ingo Trauschweizer. Full Article
or Alonso returns to McLaren simulator By en.espnf1.com Published On :: Thu, 19 Mar 2015 15:47:20 GMT Fernando Alonso will return to the McLaren simulator on Wednesday as he closes in on a return to the cockpit ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix Full Article
or Alonso 'recalls heavy steering' before winter crash By en.espnf1.com Published On :: Mon, 23 Mar 2015 14:46:04 GMT McLaren has revealed Fernando Alonso recalls a sense of "heavy" steering moments before his testing crash in Barcelona Full Article
or McLaren won't be getting knocked out in Q1 for long - Alonso By en.espnf1.com Published On :: Sat, 28 Mar 2015 10:16:46 GMT Fernando Alonso is confident McLaren will not be getting knocked out of Q1 for long this season despite his first qualifying session with McLaren leaving him 18th on the grid at the Malaysian Grand Prix Full Article
or Highlights: New transportation technologies bring rewards and risks By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 18:09:47 +0000 New technologies are transforming the transportation sector. These include autonomous vehicles, ride-sharing services, remote sensors, and unmanned aerial systems, among other developments. As is true with many technologies, however, the products have advanced faster than the policies and regulations surrounding them. On September 10, The Center for Technology Innovation hosted a panel discussion featuring Brookings… Full Article
or Remaking urban transportation and service delivery By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 18 Dec 2019 05:01:29 +0000 Major changes are taking place in urban transportation and service delivery. There are shifts in car ownership, the development of ride-sharing services, investments in autonomous vehicles, the use of remote sensors for mobile applications, and changes in package and service delivery. New tools are being deployed to transport people, deliver products, and respond to a… Full Article
or Banning cars won’t solve America’s bigger transportation problem: Long trips By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Mon, 06 Jan 2020 15:42:44 +0000 Cars are a fact of life for the vast majority of Americans, whether we’re commuting to work or traveling to just about anywhere. But a new development outside Phoenix is looking to change that. Culdesac Tempe, a 1,000-person rental community, aims to promote a new type of walkable neighborhood by banning residents from driving or… Full Article
or Coronavirus has shown us a world without traffic. Can we sustain it? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 15:34:45 +0000 There are few silver linings to the COVID-19 pandemic, but free-flowing traffic is certainly one of them. For the essential workers who still must commute each day, driving to work has suddenly become much easier. The same applies to the trucks delivering our surging e-commerce orders. Removing so many cars from the roads has even… Full Article
or Big city downtowns are booming, but can their momentum outlast the coronavirus? By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 04:00:21 +0000 It was only a generation ago when many Americans left downtowns for dead. From New York to Chicago to Los Angeles, residents fled urban cores in droves after World War II. While many businesses stayed, it wasn’t uncommon to find entire downtowns with little street life after 5:00 PM. Many of those former residents relocated… Full Article
or The carbon tax opportunity By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 06 May 2020 19:17:01 +0000 The COVID-19 pandemic has brought economic and social activity around the world to a near standstill. As a result, carbon dioxide emissions have declined sharply, and the skies above some large cities are clean and clear for the first time in decades. But “degrowth” is not a sustainable strategy for averting environmental disaster. Humanity should protect… Full Article
or COVID-19 and military readiness: Preparing for the long game By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Wed, 22 Apr 2020 12:56:42 +0000 With the saga over the U.S.S. Teddy Roosevelt aircraft carrier starting to fade from the headlines, a larger question about the American armed forces and COVID-19 remains. How will we keep our military combat-ready, and thus fully capable of deterrence globally, until a vaccine is available to our troops? It will also be crucial to… Full Article
or Webinar: Space junk—Addressing the orbital debris challenge By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Fri, 01 May 2020 17:09:27 +0000 Decades of space activity have littered Earth’s orbit with orbital debris, popularly known as space junk. Objects in orbit include spent rocket bodies, inactive satellites, a wrench, and even a toothbrush. The current quantity and density of man-made debris significantly increases the odds of future collisions either as debris damages space systems or as colliding… Full Article
or Women warriors: The ongoing story of integrating and diversifying the American armed forces By webfeeds.brookings.edu Published On :: Thu, 07 May 2020 11:50:00 +0000 How have the experiences, representation, and recognition of women in the military transformed, a century after the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? As Brookings President and retired Marine Corps General John Allen has pointed out, at times, the U.S. military has been one of America’s most progressive institutions, as with racial… Full Article
or Deadline Extended: MEI Summer Funding for HKS Students By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 25, 2020 Mar 25, 2020Deadline Extended: MEI Summer Funding for HKS Students. Apply now. Priority will be given to applications received by April 15th. Applications received after this date may be considered on a rolling basis through May 5th Full Article
or Foreseeable Unforeseeables By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 27, 2020 Mar 27, 2020Contrary to what US President Donald Trump would like to believe, a pandemic like COVID-19 was predicted as recently as last year. After being caught off guard by yet another catastrophe, one wonders when political leaders, markets, and average citizens will start to take risk seriously. Full Article
or Can COVID-19 Be Contained in War-Torn Syria? By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 27, 2020 Mar 27, 2020The spread of the coronavirus is scary everywhere. But in Syria, which has faced war for more than nine years, humanitarian aid and health care is already stretched razor-thin. Full Article
or Hopes and disappointments: regime change and support for democracy after the Arab Uprisings By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Mar 27, 2020 Mar 27, 2020Analysing two waves of the Arab Barometer surveys and employing an item-response method that offers methodological improvements compared to previous studies, this article finds that support for democracy actually decreased in countries that successfully overthrew their dictators during the Uprisings. Full Article
or Factoring Pandemic Risks into Financial Modelling By feedproxy.google.com Published On :: Apr 1, 2020 Apr 1, 2020Today’s economic crisis leaves us with an unsettling and perplexing regret. Why weren’t financial portfolios already adjusted for risks that stem from health events such as pandemics? After all, financial portfolios are adjusted for liquidity risks, market risks, credit risks, and even operational and political risks. Full Article
