Environment

Yesterday, the German Social Democrats (SPD) voted in favour of pursuing in-depth coalition talks with Angela Merkel’s Conservatives (CDU). Although the chancellor’s battle for political survival is far from over (as the final coalition agreement will have to be backed by the majority of...

Germans have given Chancellor Angela Merkel a fourth term as chancellor, but once again without a parliamentary majority. It seems likely that Merkel will now try to negotiate a black-green-yellow “Jamaica coalition” (referring to the parties’ colors) with the Greens and the pro-business Liberals re...

Kudos to Finland in 2016 for ascending to the top spot in CGD’s annual Commitment to Development Index, our ranking of how a country’s policies help or hinder development. Other countries of note this year include France, New Zealand and Austria. We just published the latest rankings, and I discuss ...

Kudos to Finland for ascending to the top spot in CGD’s 2016 Commitment to Development Index, our ranking of how a country’s policies help or hinder development. Most of the policies that score well on the index require some sort of international cooperation—so what does the CDI te...

On Thursday, August 4, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a new “Environmental and Social Framework” for bank-financed investment projects. While the new policy framework has cleared the hurdle of Board approval, many questions remain. Will the new framewor...

Depending on who you listen to, the World Bank has either just launched an unprecedented reach into the domestic political affairs of sovereign nations, or it has gutted the rules that have helped define its essential character as a global norm-setter. Both can’t be right, and most likely, nei...