Corruption in public procurement remains a stubborn challenge worldwide, siphoning off precious public resources, distorting markets, and undermining trust in government. For decades, transparency advocates and civil society organizations have sought new methods to detect and deter abuse—methods that go beyond anecdote or whistleblower testimony and instead use structured data to identify red flags. In […]
The 2023 update to the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), originally adopted in 2013, marks a significant tightening of due-diligence expectations for importers of wood and paper products into the European Union. The revised guidance places greater emphasis on the need for companies to verify the legality of timber origins, prevent deforestation-linked sourcing, and ensure full […]
As the number and scale of cybersecurity incidents rise, the question for policymakers is no longer whether sectors are exposed, but rather which are most vulnerable—and why. For those responsible for risk assessment or regulatory oversight, clarity and precision matter. Narratives about cyber risk abound, but the task of translating these into actionable intelligence demands […]
The EU’s 2022 Regulation on Responsible Mining marked a major step forward in promoting ethical sourcing and environmental stewardship within global mineral supply chains. Designed to address the risks of human rights abuses, environmental degradation, and corruption often associated with mining activities, the regulation places binding due-diligence obligations on all EU importers of mined products, […]
Few sectors have changed as visibly or as rapidly in recent years as healthcare. The shift to telemedicine, once seen as a distant possibility, accelerated abruptly under the pressure of the pandemic. Now, as demand for remote medical services persists, policymakers and economists find themselves searching for better ways to measure, understand, and project the […]
The UK government’s 2024 consultation on strengthening the Modern Slavery Act 2015 represents a significant step towards enhancing corporate accountability for forced labour and human trafficking risks in supply chains. The proposed revisions aim to close gaps in reporting consistency, improve public access to modern slavery statements, and mandate the inclusion of key risk mitigation […]
The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) introduced significant new provisions aimed at strengthening the security and resilience of critical minerals supply chains essential to US defense capabilities. As global competition intensifies and geopolitical tensions threaten the stability of resource flows, the NDAA’s supply-chain security measures underscore the strategic importance of minerals such as rare […]
The European Union’s Conflict Timber Regulation, updated in 2021, represents a major advancement in the fight against illegal logging and the trade of timber linked to armed conflict and human rights abuses. The regulation builds upon earlier frameworks such as the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) by expanding due-diligence requirements and reinforcing the mechanisms for tracing […]
The measurement of renewable energy growth is at the center of today’s climate and economic policy debates. For all the attention paid to headline statistics—gigawatts installed, emission reductions, investment totals—there remains a need for rigor in the way national and international agencies track the underlying activity. ISIC codes, specifically 3510 for electric power generation, provide […]
Health systems everywhere are under pressure to do more with less—to expand coverage, improve quality, and adapt to shifting demographic and disease patterns. But where should new clinics or hospitals be built? Which communities remain underserved? And how can policymakers ensure that resources flow where the need is greatest? Increasingly, the International Standard Industrial Classification […]
Canada’s National Pharmacare Act, passed in 2023, marks a significant step toward universal access to affordable medicines while embedding supply chain transparency as a core element of pharmaceutical governance. In addition to creating a national framework for drug coverage, the Act introduces provisions that require enhanced oversight of pharmaceutical supply chains. These provisions are designed […]
Anticipating shifts in labor market demand is, by any measure, one of the most important—and most difficult—tasks for policymakers. Vocational education, retraining programs, even university curricula: these are not easily or quickly adjusted. If anything, the lag between emerging economic trends and workforce preparation is growing. It’s for this reason that labor ministries and workforce […]
Understanding the evolution of employment in megacities is an exercise in both observation and inference. The broad narrative—manufacturing retreating, services advancing—may seem familiar, but it is the fine detail that truly matters to urban planners and labor economists. For those seeking to move beyond anecdotes and conventional wisdom, the ISIC framework, when applied at the […]
Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission Act (NAC Act), passed in 2022 and coming into force in July 2024, represents a major reform in tackling corruption and bribery within government operations, including public procurement and supply chain activities. The Act established the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), a powerful and independent body empowered to investigate and prosecute serious […]
The Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA), which came into effect in June 2022, represents the most significant overhaul of US maritime regulations in decades. Passed in response to mounting concerns over excessive freight charges, unpredictable demurrage and detention fees, and opaque shipping practices, OSRA aims to create a more transparent, fair, and competitive […]
Measuring national innovation capacity has become an almost universal ambition. Governments, international agencies, and private sector actors all want to know: how innovative are we, compared to our peers? The answer is rarely straightforward. The concept of innovation resists easy definition, and the indicators used—patents, R&D spending, skilled workforce—are themselves shaped by methodological choices. Amidst […]