The persistent gap between men’s and women’s earnings is a subject of ongoing concern, debate, and policy experimentation in economies around the world. Yet meaningful action requires a clarity of diagnosis that often eludes high-level statistics. For economists and policymakers, understanding not only the existence but the distribution of gender pay gaps—across sectors, firm sizes, […]
Climate risk is reshaping how insurers see their portfolios. The question is not whether exposures exist, but how to identify them and respond in ways that are both rigorous and practical. For this, the International Standard Industrial Classification system—ISIC codes—provides an anchor, allowing insurers to bring order to the sheer diversity of policyholders and risks. […]
When people talk about the transformation of trade, the story usually revolves around containers, ports, and mega-ships—visible proof that goods are moving across borders. Yet, beneath the surface, something quieter but equally significant has been happening: the rise of e-commerce exports. If you want to know how a country’s export profile is changing, you can’t […]
Anyone who’s worked on urban policy, especially in rapidly growing cities, knows there’s always more going on than the maps let on. The neighborhoods that never quite make it onto official plans—informal settlements, slums, whatever label you use—are often economic engines in their own right. The question isn’t just where these communities are, but how […]
If there’s anything the last few years have made clear, it’s that resilience in healthcare isn’t just about having enough hospital beds or the right stockpile of supplies. It’s about the entire architecture—how resources, infrastructure, and personnel come together in the face of crisis. But when policymakers and researchers set out to measure this resilience, […]
It’s easy to get swept up in the big numbers—total exports, year-on-year growth, the headlines about “winning sectors.” But behind every trade success story is a quieter, more intricate reality: how sectors actually stack up, both at home and abroad. For policymakers, investors, and analysts, the real question isn’t just how much a country exports, […]
As corporate social responsibility (CSR) moves from the margins to the mainstream of global business, the challenge for regulators, investors, and the public has become one of substance over style. Almost every large company publishes a glossy sustainability report, but comparing one company’s performance with another—especially across industries—remains notoriously difficult. The International Standard Industrial Classification […]
Ever since the Brexit referendum, stories about businesses leaving London for Dublin, Paris, or Frankfurt have been a constant feature in the news cycle. But behind the headlines and soundbites, the actual mechanics of relocation—who moves, where they go, and what it really means—are more complex. It’s a challenge that lands squarely in the lap […]
It would be difficult, perhaps even reckless, to talk about modern economic policymaking without at least mentioning the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system. Admittedly, it’s an arcane topic at first glance—a rigid, hierarchical code system, dense with numbers and nomenclature. But scratch beneath the surface and it becomes clear: ISIC codes are something like […]
For all the breathless headlines about robots replacing workers, the reality of automation—and its effect on labor—unfolds in slow, uneven waves. It isn’t a matter of robots suddenly flooding every shop floor, but a patchwork of change that plays out sector by sector, year by year. If you want to see what’s really happening beneath […]
Anyone who’s spent time in both a city and the countryside knows the gap isn’t just about scenery or pace of life. Increasingly, it’s about digital opportunity—who’s wired in, who’s building online businesses, and who’s left waiting for a signal. The so-called “digital divide” is talked about often, but when it comes to actually measuring […]
When we talk about a region’s future, education always comes up. It’s the foundation for nearly every other form of progress, from economic growth to civic engagement. But while politicians and planners love to cite the importance of schools and universities, the actual process of tracking educational service expansion is more complicated than a simple […]
Crises do not strike all sectors equally. Whether it’s a pandemic, earthquake, typhoon, or other sudden shock, the contours of economic disruption—and the priorities for recovery—are shaped by the underlying structure of the economy itself. For governments and agencies tasked with crisis management, the International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC) system has become a critical tool: […]
If you want to understand what microfinance really does for rural economies, it helps to get beyond the feel-good stories and look closely at the numbers. The narrative of small loans transforming lives is powerful, but the mechanisms—who’s borrowing, what kinds of businesses they’re running, and how those ventures fare—deserve closer scrutiny. Here, ISIC codes […]
If there’s one thing the pandemic made unmistakably clear, it’s that the way people work has changed—maybe for good. Telecommuting, once a niche arrangement or a perk reserved for a select few, became the norm for whole sectors almost overnight. But now, as the dust settles, the challenge for analysts and policymakers is figuring out […]
Circularity in fashion is the kind of idea that gets a lot of attention—endless conference panels, glossy brand campaigns, hopeful talk about closing the loop. But if you want to move beyond slogans and really understand whether the fashion industry is changing, you need to know where to look and how to measure. This is […]