Can the private sector save the world? Q&A with the 'godfather of sustainability'

Sustainability guru John Elkington discusses his new book "Green Swans," and the role of the private sector and impact investment in creating a better future for all.

https://www.devex.com/news/can-the-private-sector-save-the-world-q-a-with-the-godfather-of-sustainability-98231

How the Commodity Boom Helped Tackle Poverty and Inequality in Latin America

Latin America may be the most unequal region in the world, but it is the only region to significantly lower inequality over the past two decades, and the boom in commodity prices helped make it happen. 

With the boom over, poverty rates are edging up in some Latin American countries, and job creation has slowed. The region needs to find new ways to raise its currently low revenue collection and allow for further spending on key social areas, such as education and healthcare. This will help sustain growth and fight inequality and poverty.

https://blogs.imf.org/2018/06/21/how-the-commodity-boom-helped-tackle-poverty-and-inequality-in-latin-america/

Window for Change

There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen. This saying could not be more apt today. The pandemic—which has disrupted the world in profound ways—has prompted countries to roll out significant policy changes that might otherwise have taken years. It has also sped the arrival of technologies and new ways of working and learning, moving us almost overnight into a new era.

https://blogs.imf.org/2020/12/01/window-for-change/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

When it comes to the good cholesterol, fitness trumps weight

New findings suggest that maintaining a “healthy” weight isn’t as important for healthy cholesterol function as being active by regularly performing strength training.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131009125738.htm

The Journal of Men's Health & Gender - The state of men’s health in Western Europe

Results: Differences were found between the health of men and women across all age groups. Wide country-to-country variations in the influence of the different health issues were evident, with clear geographical differences for some disease states. Men had a higher rate of death than women for a wide range of risks such as ischaemic heart disease, cancer of the colon, accidents and deaths due to external causes.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1571891304000020

The Declining Fortunes of the Young

Will I do as well as my parents?

A positive answer to this question once seemed a foregone conclusion; now, for recent generations, less so. Despite being more educated than their parents, millennials—those born between 1980 and 2000—may have less job stability during their working life. Concerns that it might be more difficult to break into the middle class, or to have enough retirement savings, are also rising to the fore in policy debates in many advanced economies.

https://blogs.imf.org/2020/02/27/the-declining-fortunes-of-the-young/

How the Rich Get Richer

Wealth begets wealth. This simple concept of privilege has added to growing discontent with inequality that has escalated under the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

https://blogs.imf.org/2020/11/30/how-the-rich-get-richer/