VisitVoices of Davos 2013

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  A Global Platform for Global Issues by Klaus Schwab

  As this year's Davos meetings get underway, the need for global cooperation has never been greater, and governments, business, or civil society alone cannot meet our challenges. More than ever, we need a cooperative platform that catalyzes our collective willingness and commitment to improve the state of the world.

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  The Global Economy’s New Path by Zhu Min

  Whether we like it or not, the world around us is in a state of constant change. But recent economic trends suggest that this change may be shifting its direction in a fundamental way, with external factors coming to play a larger role in output changes in advanced and developing countries alike.

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  National Drift or Global Mastery by Gordon Brown

  More than four years into the global financial crisis, the G-20's call in 2009 for a global growth compact remains unmet. Indeed, despite clear signs of change, there is little optimism about growth – and frequent talk of a lost decade – because slow growth requires a global solution, which has not been forthcoming.

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  China’s Green Drivers by Carlos Ghosn

  Car sales in China, at 18 million in 2012, now eclipse those in the US, where consumers bought more than 15 million vehicles. Now the world’s biggest car market has declared a new goal: China wants to have the largest number of electric cars.

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  Will the Global Economy Add Up? by Lawrence H. Summers

  While 2013 will not be a banner year for the global economy, it may nonetheless come to be viewed as the first year of the post-crisis period. The main danger is that around the world there seems to be far more planning for export-led growth than acceptance of reduced competitiveness and increased imports.

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  The Stress Nexus by Peter Voser

  In the decades ahead, as the world’s population continues to grow, the middle class continues to expand, and more people choose to live in ever-larger cities, the stresses on global energy, water, and food systems will become critical. Yet, around the world, little has been done to address the coming stresses in a comprehensive way.

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  Is Manufacturing “Cool” Again? by Martin N. Baily, James Manyika

  In recent decades, as the role of manufacturing diminished in advanced economies, the brightest talents tended to gravitate to finance and other service fields that were growing rapidly – and paying well. But global manufacturing has the potential to stage a renaissance and once again become a career of choice for the most talented.

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  Closing the Global Opportunity Gap by Brad Smith

  Around the world, new job opportunities offer the promise of prosperity, but hundreds of millions of people are locked out because they lack the necessary education and skills. Unless current trends are reversed, this opportunity gap will deepen, creating even greater income disparities and stifling global economic recovery.

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  The Social-Business Revolution by Muhammad Yunus

  The persistence of many of the world’s social problems reflects our collective misinterpretation of the idea of capitalism. Social businesses – non-dividend companies created to address particular problems – are one way to create a balance between individual greed and collective imperatives.

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  Health in Hard Places by Joseph Jimenez

  When it comes to health care, all stakeholders – patients, service providers, pharmaceutical companies, and governments – know that we need new and better models. This is especially true especially true pf the health systems of emerging economies, which often confront tighter resource constraints than developed countries face.

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  The People Chase by Dennis Nally

  While there have never been so many educated and mobile people in the world, recruiting the right ones – and getting them to where they are needed most – is more difficult than ever. The reason is that emerging markets' rise is creating chronic skills gaps and labor-market mismatches.

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  A Roadmap to Global Electrification by Brian Dames

  An international initiative, called the “Electrification Roadmap,” is underway to connect 500 million people in developing countries to modern energy services by 2025. Electricity powers not only industrial development, but social and economic progress more broadly, and is crucial for lifting families and communities out of poverty.

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  The Politics of Global Recovery in 2013 by Barry Eichengreen

  Could 2013 be a better year for the global economy than 2012 was? The answer, in principle, is yes; in practice, however, the answer could be more depressing, as policymakers in Europe, the US, and China shoot themselves in the foot.

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  Flexible Employment is Key by Rolf Dorig

  Private employment agencies are working to arrest the downward spiral of youth unemployment, which threatens to inflict lasting damage on an entire generation, with unforeseeable long-term effects on employment, productivity, and social cohesion. But their efforts will require strong support from business and government.

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  Globalization’s European Test by Yannos Papantoniou

  The eurozone’s sovereign-debt crisis represents a significant challenge for Europe and the global economy. But it is also an opportunity: overcoming the challenge will not only contribute to a sustained global economic recovery, but will also test our capabilities to control the dangers of globalization.

• Five years after the global financial crisis erupted, the developed world's slow and uneven recovery is beginning to weigh on developing-country growth, while political conditions are deteriorating in key regions. As global leaders gather for this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Project Syndicate and the WEF have invited many of the participants to offer their perspectives on today's most critical economic and geopolitical issues.