Every four years since 2004, the Copenhagen Consensus Center has organized and hosted a high profile thought experiment about how a hypothetical extra $75 billion of development assistance money might best be spent to solve twelve of the major crises facing the world today. Collated in this specially commissioned book, a group of more than 50 experts make their cases for investment, discussing how to combat problems ranging from armed conflicts, corruption and trade barriers, to natural disasters, hunger, education and climate change. For each case, 'Alternative Perspectives' are also included to provide a critique and make other suggestions for investment. In addition, a panel of senior economists, including four Nobel Laureates, rank the attractiveness of each policy proposal in terms of its anticipated cost-benefit ratio. This thought-provoking book opens up debate, encouraging readers to come up with their own rankings and decide which solutions are smarter than others.

An analysis of the UN's development targets up until 2030, and the case for prioritizing the most powerful investment areas.

Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Computer Sciences - Internet of Things, IOT, grade: 1,2, University of Liechtenstein, früher Hochschule Liechtenstein, language: English, abstract: This thesis aims to expand scientific knowledge about Waste Management (WM) and its future possibilities with the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies. It reports on the results of a Design Science Research (DSR) study that develops a Smart Waste Management (SWM) Ecosystem. It presents implications of the application of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies on Waste Management (WM) as well as the entire smart city. Therefore, appropriate IoT technologies are evaluated and integrated into the WM value chain which coincide with the requirements and challenges for the WM sector. It is shown that the transformation into a Smart Waste Management (SWM) value chain enables improved and more efficient operations that can handle increasing amounts of waste in the future. In addition, the final revised SWM Ecosystem artifact depicts the necessity for a holistic view to transformations in the smart city environment, as synergy effects contribute to additional value, sustainability, and increased knowledge. The thesis shows that interdependencies between social and technical system in WM impede on its transformation, and technological possibilities alone are not sufficient enough to drive the change. Thus, the thesis suggests that a common vision towards sustainability is needed among all components in the socio-technical system, that must be initiated and governed from a higher (political) instance.

The Innovation Performance Review of Armenia contains the outcomes of a policy advisory exercise that drew on the experience accumulated by the UNECE in the identification of good practices and policy lessons in the area of knowledge-based development, with particular reference to the problems of countries with economies in transition. It provides a set of recommendations and policy options to stimulate innovation activity in the country, enhance its innovation capacity and improve the overall efficiency of the national innovation system.

The Current Controversies series examines today's most important social and political issues. Each volume presents a diverse selection of primary sources representing all sides of the debate in question.

'An excellent book' Vince Cable | 'A must read' Jo Johnson | 'A fascinating read' Bill Dudley A timely manifesto on how digital currencies will win the New Cold War and the struggle for geopolitical supremacy in the twenty-first century. A New Cold War is underway. Whereas the first Cold War was dominated by the threat of nuclear conflict, the new front line is economic and financial, but still dominated by technology. Who controls its future will help decide the outcome of the geopolitical struggle between China and the US. Since the end of the Second World War, the US dollar has been the global reserve currency, which has ensured American dominance of the world economy. But no longer. More than a hundred countries are developing Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), digital equivalents to cash that will utterly transform how we do business at home and abroad. China was the first country to recognise the potential of this new money. The West's media focused on the new currency's role in China's surveillance state, creating widespread concern about all CBDCs. But they have largely overlooked a more important aspect of its existence: as a tool through which to 'de-dollarise' the developing world at the speed of light. When China's President Xi Jinping officially launched the digital yuan in February 2022, he also agreed a pact of 'limitless co-operation' with Russia. Within days, Russia launched its war on Ukraine, secure in the knowledge it could bypass US sanctions. Urgent, clear-eyed and groundbreaking, Smart Money shows us how CBDCs are going to impact all of our futures in ways that most of us have failed to even consider. If the West is to compete, it needs to act fast to develop its own global digital currencies that reflect the values of liberal democracies.