Economy & Business

Property rights, data, and prosperity in Africa

By Thomas Koch

One of the biggest obstacles to wealth creation and greater economic prosperity in Africa has to do with land ownership. Overcoming this obstacle will require better data collection, aggregation, and transparency.

Countering Chinese disinformation reports

By Digital Forensic Research Lab

A series of reports on countering Chinese disinformation campaigns around the globe from the Digital Forensic Research Lab and Asia Security Initiative, housed in the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security.

How the Federal Reserve just set the terms for the 2021 recovery

This year was perhaps the most ambitious in the history of the US Federal Reserve. To weather the financial effects of the pandemic, the Fed kept interest rates low and injected an unprecedented amount of funds into the economy.

Europe’s new legislative proposals mark a big ‘first move’ on tech-market power

By Eileen Kannengeiser and Jörn Fleck

On December 15, the European Commission unveiled its long-anticipated legislative proposals—the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act—in a move that may further deepen transatlantic divides over digital commerce.

Event recap | Technology policy and leadership in 2021

By GeoTech Center

A discussion featuring The Honorable Secretary James F. Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development on how leadership will change in the next digital decade.

Fighting for influence in Africa: Report launch events held with the Policy Center for the New South

By Africa Center

On Monday, December 14, and Wednesday, December 16, the Africa Center and the Policy Center for the New South (PCNS) hosted joint public events to launch twin reports on the evolving roles of the traditional and emerging external powers in Africa, with the events focusing regionally on the Red Sea and the Sahel.

FAST THINKING: The Fed caps its most important year ever

By Atlantic Council

The Fed increased QE to unprecedented levels to keep financial fallout from the pandemic at bay. That, combined with the Fed’s move to lower its benchmark interest rate to zero, made this the most important year in the history of US monetary policy.

Dealmaking with China amid global economic uncertainty: Opportunities, risks, and recommendations for Latin America and the Caribbean

By Sergio Ley López and Salvador Suárez Zaizar

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic is exerting extraordinary pressure on Latin American and Caribbean economies with reverberations that will be felt for years to come. October estimates point to a 8.1 percent contraction of regional GDP this year, accompanied by a 23 percent reduction in exports. Between January and May, Latin American and Caribbean exports to […]

The top ten risks and opportunities for 2021

By Mathew Burrows, Robert A. Manning

COVID-19, the kind of “grey swan” event that is predicted but never pinpointed in time, finally came calling in 2020. Drawing on years of foresight experience at the US National Intelligence Council, we are assessing the top 10 risks and opportunities in the new year, for the US in particular, but with global implications.

Lessons from a Privacy Shield post-mortem on Capitol Hill

By Kenneth Propp

A hearing on the consequences of the European Court of Justice's invalidation of the EU-US Privacy Shield illuminated the deepening transatlantic divide over data transfers, and it highlighted the early challenge the subject looks to pose for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, which is eager to repair US-EU relations.