How transformative agreements are influencing global policies

Strategic assets are key to a country's security and prosperity. But what makes a resource or technology strategic, and how can countries identify these assets?

In "The Logic of Strategic Assets: From Oil to AI" the authors propose a framework to do this. They present three types of strategic assets:

1. Cumulative – these have high barriers to entry (e.g., social networks, aircraft engines)
2. Infrastructure – fundamental technologies (e.g., railroads, radar)
3. Dependency – assets vulnerable to supply disruption (e.g., oil, nitrates, integrated circuits)

The paper has been cited in several policy documents by the OECD and the Center for Security and Emerging Technology, including in this OECD policy document on strengthening global supply chains. The authors also published this Washington Post article about the research.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – have some of the highest obesity rates in the world.

This paper in the Middle East Development Journal concludes that rapid globalization can lead to higher obesity rates in emerging economies. The authors highlight the need for policy interventions to manage this.

This research was cited in resources to support a WHO expert meeting on policy action in the Gulf region.

Poverty affects communities as well as individuals, especially in the urban areas of developing countries.

Windhoek, the capital of Namibia, is an economic hub. Yet it still has significant levels of poverty.

This study in the Journal of Poverty provides a detailed exploration of poverty in Windhoek, highlighting the connection between poverty, health, education, and social welfare in several parts of the city.

The authors propose several policy recommendations to address the socio-economic impacts of poverty in Windhoek, including flood prevention, healthcare interventions, and affordable schooling.

The research has been cited in World Bank and U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre policy documents.

Social media is a constant in many young people's lives. How is it affecting their attention spans?

This study of 300+ adolescents by University of Amsterdam researchers examines whether those who use more social media than their peers experience more distraction.

The study has been cited by the Norwegian Government and the Danish National Board of Health.

The Danish Government has since announced plans to stop under-15s using social media.

Many public organizations struggle to adopt new technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

The authors of this paper in Public Management Review aimed to find out why by studying eight Swiss public organizations.

They found that AI implementation is much more complex than other IT innovations. They recommend several strategies for public sector organizations, based on factors such as the organization's previous experience with AI, the wider market environment, and their use cases.

The research is cited in a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on digital innovation, as well as EU reports on AI adoption in the public sector.

Tourism helps economies grow. But it can raise property prices, making housing more expensive for local people.

In this study, which featured in a UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, University of Évora researchers wanted to understand how tourism affects housing prices in eight countries where tourism is a major part of the economy: Australia, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain.

They examined data from 2000 to 2018 and confirmed that tourism raises house prices in the short and long term. They also found that a country or region's overall wealth and access to banking credit impact the cost of housing.

The research confirms governments must manage tourism's economic and social trade-offs carefully.

Published before the increase in remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study looks at how different kinds of flexible work arrangements affect employees.

The authors worked with a large U.S. Fortune 500 company to survey more than 750 professionals.

They investigated whether flexibility is something employees choose (voluntary) or are required to do (involuntary) and how different types of flexibility affect well-being, job satisfaction, stress, and job turnover.

The study shows that not all "flexible work" is good for workers. Its findings are cited in RAND Corporation and EU reports on protecting hybrid and home workers' well-being.

Increased teacher workloads and work intensification (doing more work in the same amount of time or with fewer resources) can cause stress, fatigue, and burnout. Ultimately, this increases job turnover and leads to poorer student outcomes.

This article, published in the journal Educational Review by researchers in Australia, presents a summary of research on teacher and school leader experiences of workload and work intensification.

The article helps policymakers fully understand the effects of workload and work intensification in practice and offers insights on how to address this when teachers feel they don't have enough time to complete their work.

The OECD cited this article in two recent reports: Education Policy Outlook 2024 and Education at a Glance 2024.

How do foreign investment and a country's financial system affect its carbon emissions? And what effect does carbon pricing – applying a cost to carbon pollution to encourage organizations to reduce their emissions – have on developed versus developing economies?

This study by researchers at the University of Otago examines how access to finance, the stability and depth of financial systems, foreign investment, and carbon pricing influence emissions and investment in cleaner technologies.

Reviewing 57 countries, they saw several differences between developed and developing countries:

They also found that carbon pricing in developed economies helps them attract climate-friendly foreign direct investment.

The researchers' recommendations include implementing regulations in developing economies to restrict credit to organizations that emit more pollution and offering more incentives in developed countries for organizations to adopt green technologies.

The research was cited in this World Bank report on implementing carbon pricing in developing countries.

Biopiracy is when researchers or companies use the biodiversity of developing countries and Indigenous people's knowledge to make and commercialize products and services without their consent.

This article explores a growing tension between Indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge and the rising commercial and scientific interest in genetic resources.

It compares how Colombia and Ecuador have approached public policies for protecting traditional knowledge. The Universidad Nacional de Colombia authors assess whether policy processes reflect genuine co-production between governments and Indigenous people.

They found that effective protection requires policies developed with, not for, Indigenous communities. Their research was included in a paper on co-producing sustainable ocean plans with Indigenous and traditional knowledge holders by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy.