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Curated by Project Syndicate

Education: The Brain Gain

170 commentaries

Education does not benefit only its recipients; it has a profound impact on national economic outcomes. Poor educational performance may be a determining factor in the inability of Latin American countries to rise from middle- to high-income status over the last 50 years. Likewise, education could explain why Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan attained high-income status, while countries like Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia cannot complete the middle-income transition. Policymakers, economists, educators, and business leaders debate and advance innovative ideas about educational practice and policy.

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  1. For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First
    brown106_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_nigeriaschool Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

    For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First

    Mar 15, 2024 Gordon Brown writes that the latest mass abduction of students underscores the dilemma facing parents throughout the country.

  2. A New Engine for Human Learning and Growth
    rajagopalan1 Getty Images

    A New Engine for Human Learning and Growth

    Mar 11, 2024 Shruti Rajagopalan explains what AI could do for India and many other countries in the Global South.

  3. Banking on the World Bank’s Knowledge
    saputra2_ADITYA AJIAFP via Getty Images_world bank mangrove ADITYA AJI/AFP via Getty Images

    Banking on the World Bank’s Knowledge

    Feb 28, 2024 Wempi Saputra identifies three areas in which the organization’s client countries could use more guidance.

  4. How to Finance Higher Education in Africa
    monga10MUHAMADOU BITTAYEAFP via Getty Images_senegal uni MUHAMADOU BITTAYE/AFP via Getty Images

    How to Finance Higher Education in Africa

    Feb 23, 2024 Célestin Monga proposes a mix of several funding streams to improve access to high-quality colleges and universities.

  5. An Opening in the Fight to Educate Afghan Girls
    brown103_SANAULLAH SEIAMAFP via Getty Images_afghanistan SANAULLAH SEIAM/AFP via Getty Images

    An Opening in the Fight to Educate Afghan Girls

    Dec 13, 2023 Gordon Brown & Yasmine Sherif urge leaders to establish a communication channel with Taliban officials who support reversing the school ban.

  6. What to Do About Ukraine’s Brain Drain
    anastasia1_Scott PetersonGetty Images_ukraineeducation Scott Peterson/Getty Images

    What to Do About Ukraine’s Brain Drain

    Nov 22, 2023 Giacomo Anastasia & Tito Boeri explain how the country can restore lost human capital after the war ends and reconstruction has begun.

  1. goldberg28_DENIS BALIBOUSEPOOLAFP via Getty Images_wto Denis Balibouse/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

    Why Have Developing Countries Soured on Multilateralism?

    Pinelopi Koujianou Goldberg traces the roots of dissatisfaction to advanced economies' use of bodies like the World Trade Organization.
  2. stiglitz331_serggnGetty Images_techregulation serggn/Getty Images

    A Big Defeat for Big Tech

    Joseph E. Stiglitz

    Tech companies know that if there is an open, democratic debate about data security, consumers’ concerns about digital safeguards will win out. And while the industry's lobbyists tried to ensure that no such debate could ever occur, one of their more cynical moves has now been exposed and thwarted.

    details how the industry tried to slip extraordinary protections against regulation into US trade agreements.
  3. zizek27_Giles ClarkeGetty Images_jimmycherizier Giles Clarke/Getty Images

    Haiti’s Proud Boys

    Slavoj Žižek

    If we measure a failed state by the cracks in the edifice of its power, reflected in brewing ideological civil wars, deadlocked assemblies, and increasingly insecure public spaces, we must recognize that the United States is not so unlike Haiti. Both have given rise to violent gangs with political ambitions.

    warns that rich Western democracies are not immune to politically motivated gang violence.
  4. hedegaard11_y Dursun AydemirAnadolu via Getty Images_parliament elections Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu via Getty Images

    Unity Is Europe’s Greatest Asset

    Connie Hedegaard emphasizes the importance of stability amid persistent economic and geopolitical crises.
  5. qian34_PEDRO PARDOAFP via Getty Images_immigration PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

    The Truth About US Immigration

    Nancy Qian warns that overheated campaign-season rhetoric is dangerously polarizing and ultimately self-defeating.
  6. mueller51_ David McNewGetty Images_gop trump David McNew/Getty Images

    The Zombification of Political Parties

    Jan-Werner Mueller argues that Donald Trump’s capture of the GOP’s organizational machinery recalls authoritarian tactics elsewhere.
  7. basu100_David Dee DelgadoGetty Images_newyork David Dee Delgado/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Legal Behavior

    Kaushik Basu highlights the potential benefits of emphasizing adherence to the spirit of laws, if not their letter.
  8. brown106_KOLA SULAIMONAFP via Getty Images_nigeriaschool Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images

    For Nigeria’s Schools, Safety Must Come First

    Gordon Brown writes that the latest mass abduction of students underscores the dilemma facing parents throughout the country.
  9. owoo1_disabled iStock / Getty Images Plus

    Give Women with Disabilities a Chance

    Nkechi S. Owoo explains what is needed to protect and empower one of the world’s most vulnerable demographic groups.

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