THE JOURNAL
FOLLOW US
FOCUS ON
Policy Paper: Fairly Trading the World's Timber .jpg)
Reducing timber loss through responsible management of the world’s forest stock has the power to reduce poverty, conflict, and greenhouse gases. This policy paper details efforts to date and provides comprehensive proposals for much needed action.
WPI BOOKS
Age of Greed
WPI Senior Fellow Jeff Madrick describes the history of how greed has bred America’s economic ills over the last forty years, and of the men most responsible for them. He recounts the single-minded pursuit of huge personal wealth that has been on the rise in the United States since the 1970s, led by a few individuals who have argued that self-interest guides society more effectively than community concerns.
AddToAny
Monday, February 6, 2012 - 6:00pm
While the United States is still reeling from the effects of the 2008 financial crisis, China’s economy weathered the global economic crisis much better, and is now predicted to outpace the U.S. economy as the largest in the world by 2020. In this Political Salon, Ann Lee adds much needed nuance to the debates over China’s role in the global economy and as a rising world power.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012 - 5:30pm
Water scarcity places key constraints on food and energy production, with globally significant economic and security implications. Bringing together leaders from the business and policy worlds, this discussion will explore innovative solutions to resource shortages and their consequences.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 6:30pm
The new book Wanted Women focuses on the radical choices of two women who followed very different paths at the nexus of Islam and women’s rights in the defining conflict of our time: the battle between fundamentalist Islam and the West. Moderated by Patricia DeGennaro, this Political Salon with author Deborah Scroggins raises challenging questions about loyalties, culture, security, human rights, and freedom of expression.
Monday, December 12, 2011 - 6:30pm
What do the protests in Greece, unemployment in the United States, bank failures in Ireland, and the “Lost Decade” of 1990s Japan have in common? According to financial journalist Yalman Onaran’s new book, they are all products of a broken system of zombie banks, in which governments provide constant life support to financial institutions that can no longer remain solvent on their own. In this discussion, moderated by the Eurasia Group's Dan Alamariu, Onaran examines how zombie banks hinder economic recovery and offers suggestions on how to stabilize the global economy.
Saturday, December 10, 2011 - 4:00pm
Bhopali documents the experience of second generation children affected by the Union Carbide gas disaster of 1984, the worst industrial disaster in history, and subsequent contamination of groundwater by Union Carbide Corporation (an American company now owned by Dow Chemical, the second largest chemical company in the world). It follows several children as they and their families cope with the ongoing medical and social disaster, as well as their memories of that traumatizing night that shocked the world and changed Bhopal forever. Set against the backdrop of vehement protests for the 25th anniversary of the disaster, the Bhopalis continue to fight for justice, proving to be anything but victims.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011 - 8:30am
The cascade of events loosely known as the Arab Spring has overturned authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and ushered in a period of transition in a number of countries, transforming U.S. alliances and upending strategic thinking in the region. How will this affect counterterrorism strategies? In the second of the annual Ian Cuthbertson Memorial Lectures, Naureen Chowdhury Fink and Scott Helfstein discuss the positive and negative impacts of democratic transitions on the fight against terrorism.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 - 6:30pm
During the past year, citizen-led protests against governments that have failed to deliver equality of opportunity–from the Arab Spring to India to European debtor nations to the Occupy movement in the United States-have had worldwide resonance, yet varying degrees of success. In this discussion, Mira Kamdar examines the global implications these protest movements, focusing on India's crisis of governance.
Monday, November 14, 2011 - 6:30pm
Airports: the new drivers of urban, economic, social and governmental change. In this discussion moderated by Michelle Fanzo, author Greg Lindsay examines the costs of living in midair, and explore how air travel and transportation are largely responsible for the shape and scope – and winner and losers – of globalization.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 - 6:30pm
What are the right combinations of policies to jump-start growth and re-prioritize government spending? Will economic policy makers resort to “financial repression” – suppressing interest rates and in turn the cost of rolling over debt? Hans Humes, president of Greylock Capital Management, with moderator Michele Wucker, President of World Policy Institute, lead a discussion of possible paths out of the debt mess.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011 - 6:30pm
Have the institutions that keep us safe on the streets learned how to protect us in this burgeoning digital world? Why are governments and the private sector losing against these ever-morphing, often invisible and very smart new breed of criminals? In this discussion with Kim Taipale, Misha Glenny explores the questions posed by the explosion of cyberspace, and offers surprising suggestions for the ways in which the authorities might begin to end the cybercrime epidemic.
Thursday, October 6, 2011 - 6:00pm
In True Wealth, economist and best-selling author Juliet Schor argues that the old way out of an economic downturn―a debt-financed consumer boom―is no longer a viable option. With a view towards new trends in economic theory, social analysis, and ecological design, Schor reveals how innovation, macroeconomic balance, and a new attention to multiple sources of wealth --such as discretionary time, dignified work, creativity, vibrant communities and a secure sense of well-being-- can lead to a healthier environment and higher quality of life.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011 - 12:00pm
Sedlacek takes us on a tour de force exploration of economic thinking over the millennia: from the epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament to the emergence of Christianity; from Descartes and Adam Smith to the consumerism in Fight Club. In the process, he challenges the way we calculate economic value, humanizes the field of economics and offers fresh ideas that may offer a path forward from the current crisis.
Friday, September 23, 2011 - 8:00am
On September 23 in New York City, the Womensphere Global Summit & Awards brings together global leaders, entrepreneurs, social innovators, and industry leaders across business, finance, technology, energy, environment, media, sciences, and public policy. The Summit agenda is on "Creating the Future," and will center on the themes of women’s leadership, innovation, ventures, economic growth, sustainability and social impact.
Thursday, September 22, 2011 - 7:00pm
Join Solar One and the NYC Accelerator for a Clean and Renewable Economy (NYC ACRE) at Polytechnic Institute of New York University for "The Energy-Water Nexus", their event for Climate Week NYC 2011. The fourth event of Solar One's and NYC ACRE's discussion series and online forum Clean Energy Connections, The Energy-Water Nexus will bring together policy thinkers, industry leaders, and innovators to engage on how to responsibly maintain the relationship of energy and water for generations to come.
Monday, September 19, 2011 - 6:30pm
Tonight's Political Salon has been postponed due to illness. Updated details will be circulated once the event is rescheduled.
What are the right combinations of policies to jump-start growth and re-prioritize government spending? Will economic policy makers resort to “financial repression” – suppressing interest rates and in turn the cost of rolling over debt? Hans Humes, president of Greylock Capital Management, with moderator Constance Hunter of Aladdin Capital, lead a discussion of possible paths out of the debt mess.
Friday, September 16, 2011 - 8:30am
The Age of Greed: The Triumph of Finance and the Decline of America, 1920 to the Present, is a vividly told history of how greed bred America’s economic ills over the last forty years, and of the men most responsible for them. This breakfast conversation brings together Jeff Madrick and Herb Allison, who builds a powerful case for breaking up the megabanks and overhauling regulation and oversight of the financial industry in The Megabanks Mess. Madrick and Allison discuss how we got here, who played a major role, and what to do about it going forward.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011 - 6:30pm
It would take five additional planets if everyone in the world were to live at the consumption level of the average American. In this discussion, William Powers and an esteemed panel explore some of the workable, cross-disciplinary alternatives to the “more-is-better” paradigm, investigating successful movements in green living, and thinking creatively about moving these models into the policy realm.
Thursday, June 9, 2011 - 6:00pm
More than 160 million females are “missing” from Asia’s population. That’s more than the entire female population of the United States. Gender imbalance—which is mainly the result of sex selective abortion— is no longer strictly an Asian problem. In Azerbaijan and Armenia, in Eastern Europe, and even among some groups in the United States, couples are making sure at least one of their children is a son. So many parents now select for boys that they have skewed the sex ratio at birth of the entire world. In her first book, Unnatural Selection, Mara Hvistendahl explores how this has occurred, asking why women and girls are becoming scarce in Asia and Eastern Europe as these regions develop, and investigates the implications for security, women's rights, governance, and economic development when the world’s extra boys grow up.
.jpg)
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - 6:30pm
Chaw Ei Thein will give a brief performance and discuss the limitations on civil rights and freedom of speech that drove her to seek asylum from Burma, where 2000 political prisoners are serving decades-long sentences for speaking out. She also will give perspectives on the challenges facing asylum seekers in the United States.
_0_0.jpg)
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 - 2:00pm
The Water-Energy Nexus represents a critical business, security, and environmental issue, but has not yet received the attention that it merits. Energy production consumes significant amounts of water, and vice versa. Now --as energy policies are being considered around the world-- is the window of opportunity to include water on the agenda alongside cost, carbon, and security considerations. In this panel discussion, industry leaders explore what businesses, the military, policy makers, and the media need to know about managing trade-offs between water and energy.
