GPI Global Policy Institute

Among wealthy countries, America holds the dubious record as the country with highest health care spending, (18% of GDP), extraordinarily high costs of even standard procedures, and mediocre health outcomes. Alright, but how bad is bad?

Sadly, an Unholy Alliance of Congress and the President, Democrats and Republicans included, has decided that borrowing and spending Read more

Can we grow abundant food in dedicated urban structures, something like “skyscrapers for lettuce”? The answer is “yes”. And what’s the advantage of doing this? Read more

For major global brands, a good reputation is worth billions. In the case of VW, the huge scandal caused by the revelation of fraudulent practices aimed at manipulating emissions Read More

The Trump administration just announced that its Iran policy is not just aimed at setting tougher limits on its nuclear program. It is in fact about forcefully countering Iran’s Read more

“Mr. Musk is facing intense scrutiny as Tesla struggles to ramp up production of the new Model 3 and analysts question whether he’ll need to raise additional cash to keep paying for his ambitious plans.

“Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) says it will launch a “flow” battery made of inexpensive, non-toxic materials next year. The flow batteries will last longer than lithium-ion batteries and allow utilities to use more renewable energy combined with energy storage.

Until not too long ago, the widely accepted conventional wisdom regarding corporations and their activities was that “the business of business is business”. In other words, stick to what you know, focus on delivering innovative products at competitive prices and let others worry about externalities. Well, it is no longer so. Laurence Fink, CEO of Blackrock a giant money management firm, tells companies that beyond taking care of their core business they also have important social responsibilities. If they do not understand them they may not be successful in the future. Here are some excerpts from his Annual Letter to CEOs.

India’s fantastic air pollution levels have become national tragedy. The following excerpt from a recent The Washington Post story from New Delhi illustrates the magnitude of this crisis. As a government official recently stated, the capital of India has indeed become a “gas chamber” for its millions of citizens.

Official data demonstrate that at least in New York City students enrolled in charter schools do better than those enrolled in regular schools. In fact even charter schools students who face the challenges of poverty and dangerous neighborhoods do well and in some cases better than regular students from more affluent parts of town. Read more

“Not only are there fewer start-ups [in America], but a smaller percentage of them are succeeding. That means young firms are a smaller part of the overall market and ... " Read more

“I think there can be no question that women should have equal rights with men.”

“Women should have free access to every field of labor which they care to enter, and when their work is as valuable as that of a man it should be paid as highly.”