World Perspectives

Mission Creep; Begetting; Economic Policy

Rich countries see few success stories from specific development assistance initiatives, while many developing nations view foreign aid as often ill-prescribed for their actual problems (e.g., "sustainable" development) and thus characterize such measures as interventionist.

  WTO's Mission Creep WTO members are split over the best policy path forward, but Director-General Roberto Azevêdo assured developing countries that December's ministerial meeting in Nairobi "must be delivering on development" and that he will do all he can "to support meaningful development and LDC outcomes in Nairobi." However, Azevêdo's agenda is precisely why December's WTO meeting risks becoming one more in a string of ministerial failures. A...

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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