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Curated by Project Syndicate

The Future of Human Development

11 commentaries

It’s been 25 years since the first UNDP Human Development Report affirmed that income growth alone does not improve human wellbeing. How can the human-development approach be used to help policymakers tackle today's complex global challenges?

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  1. From War to Work
    fstewart1_Emmanuel Dunand_Getty Images_War to Work Emmanuel Dunand/ Getty Images

    From War to Work

    Jun 9, 2016 Frances Stewart debunks the conventional wisdom that job creation prevents violent conflict.

  2. Living Free and Equal
    Latin America Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Living Free and Equal

    Apr 5, 2016 Rebeca Grynspan calls for redistributive policies to enable countries to reduce poverty and inequality.

  3. Learning Without Theory
    people walking Getty Images

    Learning Without Theory

    Mar 30, 2016 Ricardo Hausmann says that when it comes to economic growth and development, we should not confuse "what" and "how."

  4. From Child Slavery to Freedom
    Children in India Schoolchildren in India/Pixabay

    From Child Slavery to Freedom

    Jan 21, 2016 Kailash Satyarthi explains why 5.5 million kids remain in servitude – and what must be done to end the practice.

  5. Education in an Uncertain World
    Schoolchildren at a computer terminal

    Education in an Uncertain World

    Dec 16, 2015 Andreas Schleicher considers the skills that today's graduates need to cope with rapid technological change.

  6. The Evolution of Work
    Industrial tools

    The Evolution of Work

    Dec 9, 2015 Dani Rodrik explains why the outlook is mixed for labor in developing countries.

  1. kalemliozcan5_Burak KaraGettyImages_istanbul_protests Burak Kara/Getty Images

    Authoritarianism Is Turkey’s Biggest Economic Risk

    Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan believes the current mass protests are about more than the arrest of the country’s leading opposition figure.
  2. lee55_TANG CHHIN SOTHYAFP via Getty Images_asean+3 Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images

    Asia Must Unite to Survive Trump 2.0

    Lee Jong-Wha highlights ways the region's economies can boost their resilience and global influence.
  3. gabriel15_Justin Tallis - WPA PoolGetty Images_EUcoalitionofthewilling Justin Tallis/WPA/Pool/Getty Images

    Europe and the Next World Order

    Sigmar Gabriel & Peter Eitel observe that the continent has once again become the fulcrum of global politics.
  4. hausmann121_Artur WidakNurPhoto via Getty Images_applestoreasia Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Trump’s $16 Trillion Trade Blind Spot

    Ricardo Hausmann identifies the fundamental flaw in the administration’s efforts to dismantle the postwar international order.
  5. roach176_Morris MacMatzenGettyImages_hamburg_port Morris MacMatzen/Getty Images

    A World Turned Inside Out

    Stephen S. Roach

    The geostrategic shock that has accompanied Donald Trump’s return to the White House is the functional equivalent of a full-blown crisis. It is likely to have a lasting impact on the US and Chinese economies, and the contagion is almost certain to spread throughout the world through cross-border trade and capital flows.

    likens Donald Trump’s reversal of America’s global leadership role to a full-blown crisis, similar to COVID-19.
  6. GettyImages-465335816

    Jorge Heine on the BRICS, active non-alignment, the US dollar, and more

    Jorge Heine urges the Organization of American States to demonstrate leadership in Haiti, shows how small countries can implement a foreign policy based on active non-alignment, calls on China and Europe to diversify the global monetary system, and more.
  7. fengler4_SIMON MAINAAFP via Getty Images_africadigitalbank Simon Maina/AFP via Getty Images

    Financial Inclusion Must Reach the Last Billion

    Wolfgang Fengler explains why economic growth alone is not enough to extend the ladder of opportunity to all.
  8. fofack31_Fred DufourGettyImages_usaid_bag_car Fred Dufour/Getty Images

    Dismantling USAID Could Boost African Self-Reliance

    Hippolyte Fofack

    US President Donald Trump’s dismantling of America’s foreign-aid program may be the wake-up call African leaders need. If necessity is the mother of invention, the end of USAID could galvanize African governments to confront their countries’ challenges head-on.

    sees opportunities to promote local growth following a massive reduction in foreign aid.
  9. brown118_Wakil KohsarGettyImages_afghan_girls_school Wakil Kohsar/Getty Images

    The Internal Challenge to Afghanistan’s Ban on Girls’ Secondary Education

    Gordon Brown explains why the country’s leadership crisis represents an opportunity to end gender apartheid.

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