World Perspectives

Can’t Walk the Talk; Limited Policy Options; On the Other Foot

Can’t Walk the Talk German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is in Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, and he is advising “all parties” to avoid any escalation in trade tensions. Herr Scholz is no doubt concerned that the German economy is suffering from such tensions, and it could get worse. German gross domestic product (GDP) growth was negative most recently, and the consensus is that it will be barely growing in the months ahead. The U.S. economy has slowed as well. However, with consensus at a steady 2.2 percent and a lack of workers to make it grow faster, growth is not the same concern that it is in Germany. Scholz’s real concern is President Trump’s c...

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Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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