Unfinished Agenda Research Articles

Geographical Indications at the WTO: An Unfinished Agenda

Over the recent past, Geographical Indication (GI) has emerged as one of the most contentious categories of intellectual property (IP). Two among the three TRIPS issues presently under discussion at the WTO pertain to GIs, the third being the relationship between the TRIPS and the CBD. Interestingly, in sharp contrast to the archetypical North-South divide on IP issues in the realm of the WTO and beyond, in the sphere of GIs one comes across developing countries joining hands with developed countries either as demandeurs or opponents in the ongoing WTO talks, depending on their respective stakes on GIs. The aim of this paper is to provide a concise account of the ongoing WTO discussions on GIs. However, the dynamics of the current negotiations cannot be put into perspective unless judged in the light of the key reasons underlying the discordance between the two sides of this highly contentious area, namely the ‘Old World’ and the ‘New World’. With this aim in view, the paper explores some of the key historical, legal and economic reasons underlying the GI row. Given that the issues presently under discussion have their origin in the Uruguay Round negotiations and the compromise deal on GIs that they culminated into, the paper undertakes a rigorous assessment of the drafting history of the Uruguay Round. It then goes on to track the ongoing negotiations and analyzes various negotiating proposals under consideration on the three GI issues: multilateral register for wines and spirits; extension of the higher level of protection presently available for wines and spirits to all product categories; and the ‘claw-back’ proposal of the European Communities (under the agriculture agenda). The paper argues that the recent emergence of a strategic alliance of more than 100 Member countries in support of a parallelism on the three IP issues may be helpful in pushing the GI agenda forward, including the case of ‘extension’ that has been strongly supported by many developing countries including China, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, among others. However, adequate legal protection at the international level through the ‘extension’ route can at best be regarded as necessary but in no way sufficient for reaping the commercial benefits out of the Southern GIs in the global market. Hence, the developing country proponents of GIs need to weigh the costs and benefits among various issues of interest to them before taking any particular stance at the WTO in the future. Given that the aforesaid strategic alliance was reached at the cost of a significant compromise on the part some of these developing countries on the TRIPS/CBD front, it remains an open question whether such a compromise was worth making for these countries, many of whom could actually have benefited more by getting a better deal on TRIPS/CBD than on GIs!

‘Forthcoming three months represent best remaining opportunity for accomplishment’: Israeli diplomacy and the 1948 US presidential election (part II)

President Truman's de facto recognition of Israel on 14 May 1948 did not resolve the critical issues of de jure recognition, the new state's boundaries, the arms embargo, and financial assistance. In an ironic convergence with their frequent adversaries in the US State Department who often alleged that politics was driving Palestine policy, Israeli diplomats anticipated that favourable action from the Truman administration on these issues would be forthcoming in the course of that year's presidential election campaign. This article examines Israel's efforts to secure those objectives in the context of that year's presidential politics and the ongoing tug of war between White House and State Department. Despite persistent and determined advocacy, the mobilization of considerable support from American Zionists, and an apparently favourable political environment, Israel diplomacy was unable to overcome Truman's deference to State Department resistance to Israeli aspirations in the months leading up to his unexpected victory at the polls on 2 November 1948. It would be the success of Israeli arms, not the quest for Jewish votes, that proved to be the key to realizing the unfinished agenda of 14 May.

Evolution of Taiwan’s health care system

This study aims to present an overview of the evolutionary policy process in reforming the health care system in Taiwan, through dissecting the forces of knowledge, social-cultural context, economic resources and political system. We further identify factors, which had a significant impact on health care reform policies in Taiwan through illustrative policy examples. One of the most illuminating examples highlighted is the design and implementation of a single-payer National Health Insurance (NHI) program in 1995, after nearly five years of planning efforts (1988-1993) and a two-year legislative marathon. The NHI is one of the most popular social programs ever undertaken in the history of Taiwan, which greatly enhances financial protection against unexpected medical expenses and assures access to health services. Nonetheless, health care reform still has an unfinished agenda. Despite high satisfaction ratings, Taiwan's health care system today is encountering mounting pressure for new reforms as a result of its rapidly aging population, economic stagnation, and imbalanced NHI checkbook. Although there may exist some heterogeneous system characteristics and challenges among different health care systems around the world, Taiwan's experiences in reforming its health care system for the past few decades may provide valuable lessons for countries going through rapid economic and political transition.

Race, Labor, and the City in the Obama Era: King's Unfinished Agenda

In “Race, Labor and the City in the Obama Era: King's Unfinished Agenda,” Honey surveys what has happened in Memphis since the King assassination. He argues that King's phase one of civil rights has largely succeeded but that King's phase two of economic justice has not. As is the case all over the nation, the black working class has suffered disproportionately from deindustrialization, loss of unions, and the trickle-down economics of racial capitalism. Honey argues that the election of Barack Obama as president forty years after King's death provides unprecedented opportunity but only if a movement counters diluted proposals for “bipartisan” reform with demands that government implement King's unfinished agenda of ending racism, poverty, and war.

Elimination of neglected diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean: A mapping of selected diseases

In Latin America and the Caribbean, around 195 million people live in poverty, a situation that increases the burden of some infectious diseases. Neglected diseases, in particular, are often restricted to poor, marginalized sections of the population. Tools exist to combat these diseases, making it imperative to work towards their elimination. In 2009, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) received a mandate to support the countries in the Region in eliminating neglected diseases and other poverty-related infections. The objective of this study is to analyze the presence of selected diseases using geoprocessing techniques. Five diseases with information available at the first sub-national level (states) were mapped, showing the presence of the disease (‘‘hotspots’’) and overlap of diseases (‘‘major hotspots’’). In the 45 countries/territories (approximately 570 states) of the Region, there is: lymphatic filariasis in four countries (29 states), onchocerciasis in six countries (25 states), schistosomiasis in four countries (39 states), trachoma in three countries (29 states), and human rabies transmitted by dogs in ten countries (20 states). Of the 108 states with one or more of the selected diseases, 36 states present the diseases in overlapping areas (‘‘major hotspots’’). Additional information about soil-transmitted helminths was included. The analysis suggests a majority of the selected diseases are not widespread and can be considered part of an unfinished agenda with elimination as a goal. Integrated plans and a comprehensive approach, ensuring access to existing diagnostic and treatment methods, and establishing a multi-sectoral agenda that addresses social determinants, including access to adequate water and sanitation, are required. Future studies can include additional diseases, socio-economic and environmental variables. Citation: Schneider MC, Aguilera XP, Barbosa da Silva Junior J, Ault SK, Najera P, et al. (2011) Elimination of Neglected Diseases in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Mapping of Selected Diseases. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 5(2): e964. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000964 Editor: Simon Brooker, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom Received June 22, 2010; Accepted January 12, 2011; Published February 15, 2011 Copyright: 2011 Schneider et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Funding: This study was completed with resources from the Pan American Health Organization. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. * E-mail: schneidc@paho.org

Evidence-based treatment of tuberculosis for children: The unfinished agenda

hough an estimated 1 million new cases oftuberculosis (TB) occur in children world-wide each year, pediatric TB has not beengiven the same priority as its adultcounterpart(1). Advances in diagnosis and treatmentare lagging behind – the major limitation inperforming treatment trials in children is the lack of adefinitive gold standard for diagnosis andmonitoring. As a result, regimens and dosages ofanti-TB drugs tested in adults are often extrapolatedto children. The efficacy of short-coursechemotherapy (SCC) regimens for the treatment ofpulmonary TB was first demonstrated in adults inthe1970s; this was followed by trials for extra-pulmonary and childhood TB. Even before SCCbecame the norm, the phenomenon of “lag phase” inmycobacteria exposed to anti-TB drugs

Access to essential medicines and standard treatment for chronic diseases

Chronic diseases have emerged as a major killer globally. Nearly 60% of all deaths in the world are caused by chronic ailments such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that of the 35 million (60%) people who died from chronic diseases in 2005, half were under 70, and half were women. Of these, 72% deaths were estimated to have occurred in developing countries, indicating an epidemiologic transition in these countries. In India, chronic diseases contribute to an estimated 53% of the deaths and 44% of disability-adjusted life-years lost.[1] A study conducted in 45 villages in East and West Godavari in Andhra Pradesh shows that noncommunicable diseases are a leading cause of death in rural India.[2] The implications of these findings are far-reaching. Chronic diseases are a serious public health issue, particularly because they require long-term therapy. Management of chronic diseases has a complex and adverse impact on health systems in countries like India, which are already burdened with the unfinished agenda of communicable diseases as well as maternal and child health problems. Ensuring access to medicines for treating chronic diseases, however, remains neglected in most developing countries. Generally, the focus is on improving access to medicines for treating infectious diseases. For chronic diseases, prevention is the priority. However, it is well established that in addition to prevention, treatment of chronic diseases should form an essential component of any comprehensive public health programme. Chronic diseases have a multidimensional impact on the community as well as on the individual, and require a lot of healthcare resources for their management. At the individual level, one faces financial problems, which is one of the most important reasons of non-compliance, resulting in complications. At the national level, chronic diseases have a huge economic impact. The WHO reports that India could forgo US $236 billion in national income over the next 10 years as a result of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.[3] Hence, this largely invisible epidemic of chronic diseases must be addressed through necessary actions by policy makers, regulators, doctors and researchers.

A Strategic Approach to the Unfinished Fortification Agenda: Feasibility, Costs, and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Fortification Programs in 48 Countries

Food fortification is a promising strategy for combating micronutrient deficiencies, which plague one-third of the world's population. Which foods to fortify, with which micronutrients, and in which countries remain essential questions that to date have not been addressed at the global level. To provide a tool for international agencies to identify and organize the next phase of the unfinished global fortification agenda by prioritizing roughly 250 potential interventions in 48 priority countries. By explicitly defining the structure and operations of the fortification interventions in a detailed and transparent manner, and incorporating a substantial amount of country-specific data, the study also provides a potentially useful starting point for policy discussions in each of the 48 countries, which--it is hoped--will help to catalyze the development of public-private partnerships and accelerate the introduction of fortification and reduction of micronutrient deficiencies. Forty-eight high-priority countries were identified, and the feasibility of fortifying vegetable oil and sugar with vitamin A and fortifying wheat flour and maize flour with two alternative multiple micronutrient formulations was assessed. One hundred twenty-two country-, food-, and fortification formulation-specific interventions were assessed to be feasible, and the costs of each intervention were estimated. Assuming a 30% reduction in the micronutrient deficiencies of the persons consuming the food, the number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) saved by each of the programs was estimated. The cost per DALY saved was calculated for each of the 122 interventions, and the interventions were rank-ordered by cost-effectiveness. It is estimated that the 60 most cost-effective interventions would carry a 10-year price tag of US$1 billion and have costs per DALY saved ranging from US$1 to US$134. The single "best bet" intervention--i.e., the most cost-effective intervention--in each of the 48 countries was identified. This study provides a detailed, transparent, evidence-based approach to defining and estimating the costs and cost-effectiveness of the unfinished global fortification agenda in the 48 priority countries. Other considerations in designing a strategic approach to the unfinished global fortification agenda are also discussed.

Making India’s Labour Markets Inclusive

Growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for poverty reduction. Reforming our education, employability and employment ecosystem is key to making progress. This article makes the case that India’s next wave of poverty reduction will come from accelerating India’s four labour market transitions; farm to non-farm, rural to urban, unorganised to organised and subsistence self-employment to decent wage employment. Not everybody agrees; people believe that urbanisation is a curse, farms provide a happy and contended existence, entrepreneurship is a solution to unemployment and the unorganised sector is a highly flexible response to India’s governance deficit. We disagree. We believe that the biggest lesson of India’s economic reforms is that growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition for poverty reduction. Poverty reduction needs access. Most Indians are unable to escape their financial, geographic or social opening balance (the Ovarian lottery) because our non-inclusive labour markets and human capital ecosystem do not provide access. Policy must accelerate these four labour market transitions because these are journeys to a better life for most Indians. Access is India’s unfinished agenda and the 3E focus (employment, employability and education) may be the most sustainable vehicles for creating access. Unfortunately, the global financial crisis is shifting the reform debate back to the dated fundamentalism around the private versus public sector. Reforms are about making our labour markets, economy and country more inclusive. They are about creating equality of opportunity and not equality of outcomes. They are about helping people escape their losing tickets in the Ovarian lottery.

Land Reforms in Bihar, India: An Unfinished Agenda

Land Reforms in Bihar, India: An Unfinished Agenda

Gendering the Comparative Analysis of Welfare States: An Unfinished Agenda

Can feminists count on welfare states—or at least some aspects of these complex systems—as resources in the struggle for gender equality? Gender analysts of “welfare states” investigate this question and the broader set of issues around the mutually constitutive relationship between systems of social provision and regulation and gender. Feminist scholars have moved to bring the contingent practice of politics back into grounded fields of action and social change and away from the reification and abstractions that had come to dominate models of politics focused on “big” structures and systems, including those focused on “welfare states.” Conceptual innovations and reconceptualizations of foundational terms have been especially prominent in the comparative scholarship on welfare states, starting with gender, and including care, autonomy, citizenship, (in) dependence, political agency, and equality. In contrast to other subfields of political science and sociology, gendered insights have to some extent been incorporated into mainstream comparative scholarship on welfare states. The arguments between feminists and mainstream scholars over the course of the last two decades have been productive, powering the development of key themes and concepts pioneered by gender scholars, including “defamilialization,” the significance of unpaid care work in families and the difficulties of work-family “reconciliation,” gendered welfare state institutions, the relation between fertility and women's employment, and the partisan correlates of different family and gender policy models. Yet the mainstream still resists the deeper implications of feminist work, and has difficulties assimilating concepts of care, gendered power, dependency, and interdependency. Thus, the agenda of gendering comparative welfare state studies remains unfinished. To develop an understanding of what might be needed to finish that agenda, I assess the gendered contributions to the analysis of modern systems of social provision, starting with the concept of gender itself, then moving to studies of the gendered division of labor (including care) and of gendered political power.

An optimum-currency-area odyssey

The theory of optimum-currency-areas was conceived and developed in three highly influential papers, written by Mundell (1961), McKinnon (1963) and Kenen (1969). Those authors identified characteristics that potential members of a monetary union should ideally possess in order to make it feasible to surrender a nationally-tailored monetary policy and the adjustment of an exchange rate of a national currency. We trace the development of optimum-currency-area theory, which, after a flurry of research into the subject in the 1960s, was relegated to intellectual purgatory for about 20 years. We then discuss factors that led to a renewed interest into the subject, beginning in the early 1990s. Milton Friedman plays a pivotal role in our narrative; Friedman's work on monetary integration in the early 1950s presaged subsequent optimum-currency-area contributions; Mundell's classic formulation of an optimal currency area was aimed, in part, at refuting Friedman's “strong” case for floating exchange rates; and Friedman's work on the role of monetary policy had the effect of helping to revive interest in optimum-currency-area analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of recent analytical work, using New Keynesian models, which has the promise of fulfilling the unfinished agenda set-out by the original contributors to the optimum-currency-area literature, that is, providing a consistent framework in which a country's characteristics can be used to determine its optimal exchange-rate regime.

Innovations in Microfinance - Looking beyond Income Poverty

unique amalgamation of industrial (including financial) and institutional reforms in the present scenario of development economics. For the developing countries like India it has come as a breakthrough in the philosophy and practices of poverty eradication, economic empowerment and inclusive growth. Yet given the enormity of economic compulsions and complexities in these countries, microfinance is an unfinished agenda. The main objective of this paper, therefore, is to shift the focus from mere financial access to poverty eradication and people’s empowerment, sifting the ‘performance’ of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) from their ‘popularity’. The typical microfinance clients are low-income persons who do not have access to formal financial institutions. Therefore, there is a tendency among development thinkers and practioners to gauge the impact of MFIs purely in monetary terms, i.e. eradication of income poverty. This is not only a partial view of the potential and purpose of microfinance but also a cause of unbridled growth of MFIs. MFIs have the capacity and responsibility of empower the most vulnerable, such as women, rural artisans etc; to allow the not-yet-economically-active to become so; and to create community-based structures that build mutual support and trust. The argument in this paper is that MFIs by releasing the true potential of its members through social intermediation can ensure building an inclusive society. MFIs have the advantage of combining the good features of both formal and informal credit, even improving productivity and credit-worthiness through the ethics of repayment. The plight of farmers in India and the scenario of suicides need to be examined in this context. For microfinance, therefore there is ethical and economic justification for looking beyond income poverty or to move from financial intermediation to social intermediation. So today we need to not only evolve new products or services under the gamut of microfinance but also explore new frontiers of development, social and economic. This hinges on human development in terms of infrastructure for health, education, skill and enterprise. This is also in-keeping with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The positive signs are already visible. Several MFIs have recognised the need to be socially relevant and active in order to be commercially viable and useful. The Kalinjiam success story is a case in the point. This paper calls for a symbiotic relationship between financial intermediation and social intermediation, to remove the economic and socio-cultural barriers to empowerment, inclusion and development. Inclusive growth requires not only physical, natural and human capital, but also social capital. Also further research is need to a have a reality check of ‘what is really happening’, uniquely exploring both social and financial performance in the MFI sector in general and Self-Help Group (SHG) movement in particular.

What Happened at Vatican II (review)

Reviewed by: What Happened at Vatican II Alberto Melloni What Happened at Vatican II. By John O’Malley. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2008. Pp. 400. $29.95. ISBN 978-0-674-03169-2.) Each scholar has a secret list of books that will remain among the classics of historical research and religious studies, such as Martin Grabmann on Scholasticism, Roger Aubert on twentieth-century theology, Francis Dvornik on the Schism of 1054, Brian Tierney on conciliarism, and Jean Leclercq on L’amour des lettres—those books considered essential for students. John O’Malley’s What Happened at Vatican II seems to be one of those books. His history of the Second Vatican Council is similar to the five volumes directed by Giuseppe Alberigo and written by some forty scholars between 1995 and 2001. Actually, in terms of facts and roles, details and names, procedures and archival trouvailles, O’Malley’s research does not bring new elements that may substantially correct the broader picture. Nonetheless, the book offers a coherent description of Vatican II as a part of the larger history of the Roman Catholic Church: before and while taking into account the different phases of Vatican II, O’Malley offers the reader a precise picture of a wider panorama. In page after page the historian recalls the tridentine precedents of each and every step of Vatican II and mostly gives a superb description of the unfinished agenda of the papacy’s antimodern attitude presented before the largest assembly of equals ever gathered on Earth. O’Malley is right: In St. Peter’s, beside the thousands of Fathers who took part in the council preparation and celebration from 1959 to 1965, we should realize that Pius IX and Pius XII, Marx and Freud, Lagrange and Rosmini, and De Maistre and Lamennais were there, listening to the infinite debate that changed the church “style” (a key word recently explored by Christoph Theobald). O’Malley underlines three aspects of Vatican II, which in his view are fundamental for the interpretation and a correct historical hermeneutic: aggiornamento, development, and ressourcement are the three pillars of an event that gave origin to an unprecedented form of council, which was able to avoid the usual paths of condemnation. In some of the best pages of his book [End Page 414] the historian underlines its importance for a language who abandoned the rhetoric of condemnation and anathematism, and adopted an epideictic rhetoric—namely a discourse whose goal is to win internal assent in the listener (a perspective different from Peter Hünermann’s idea of the “constitutional” status of Vatican II decisions, but very close to it in the idea of a brand-new type of concilar discourse). A new language is made of words of reciprocity, of humility, of interiority, which gives a peculiar style to the decisions of Vatican II. At the same time it must be emphasized that the very event of Vatican II was made of factual and actual reciprocity, humility, and interiority that was experienced by the bishops: and such an experience was the meaning of the adjective pastoral so dear to Pope John XXIII in his effort to name the peculiarity of Vatican II. Thanks to his knowledge of the Council of Trent, O’Malley does not hide his ideas about a controversial point regarding the reception of Vatican II: if a reductive hermeneutic of the Council suggests that the excessive protagonism of the theologians is at the origin of the postconciliar “crisis,” O’Malley explains that the role of theologians was more reduced at Vatican II in comparison with the sixteenth-century council. Therefore, the consent expressed by the Bishops was the result of a tense dynamic, a rude dispute, which divided a majority from the minority. However, the fingerprints of the minority may be traced in some crucial passages of the final phase like the Nota explicativa prævia, the structure of the Synod of Bishops (studied by Antonio Indelicato in Il sinodo del vescovi: La collegialità sospesa [Bologna, 2008]), and the doctrine on peace—things that made the final phases of Vatican II less joyful in capite et in membris. Through O’Malley’s account (which rests on...

R2P and the Role of Regional Organisations in Ethnic Conflict Management, Prevention and Resolution: The Unfinished Agenda

AbstractThe Responsibility to Protect (hereafter R2P) agendas have established a fairly high threshold for engagement by third parties in ethnic conflict when seen through the lens of direct intervention by means of force or coercion in order to mitigate overt forms of ethnic conflict such as ethnic cleansing and genocide. The absence of regional organisation activity in this area is understandable given the enormous political and financial costs associated with intervention. Yet the R2P agenda also carries with it a preventive component, and in this regard there is reason to be a little more optimistic. Ten years ago on the advice of the Brahimi Report, investments were made by most regional organisations to strengthen capacity for preventive action. In this article, we return to the question of whether and how regional organisations can or do conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the R2P's preventive component. The article unfolds in four sections. In the first part, we assess the role of regional organisations in implementing the R2P agendas. We begin with an identification of each regional organisation that either implicitly or explicitly references the R2P framework in their mandates, charters and doctrine. These organisations include the OSCE, the AU, the OAS, SAARC, ECOWAS, and ASEAN among others. Second, we provide a comparative framework that specifies the ways in which R2P is reflected in the activities of each regional organisation, with reference to capacity building, charter development, preventive diplomacy, direct engagement, and conflict management. This evaluative framework allows us to determine if there has been any shift in the way in which these organisations conduct themselves with respect to R2P principles. In the third part of the article we assess the Darfur case to illustrate our evaluative framework. The question we ask is: are the actions of the organisations involved in these conflicts consistent with R2P in its preventive as well as its interventionist interpretations? In the fourth and final section we conclude with implications for theory and policy and make some recommendations for future research.

R2P: A New and Unfinished Agenda

Recent tragedies in Burma, Zimbabwe, Congo and Darfur demonstrate in all too dismaying terms that the international community has a long way to go towards ensuring that when a government manifestly fails to protect its population from a humanitarian catastrophe the precepts of national sovereignty don't trump human rights. The promise of the principle of the “responsibility to protect” (R 2P), embodying the imperative of international action to protect civilians when their own governments fail to do so or are themselves the predators, passed by the World Summit of leaders in 2005, has yet to be fulfilled as a firm international norm.

An Optimum-Currency-Area Odyssey

The theory of optimum currency areas was conceived and developed in three highly influential papers, written by Mundell (1961), McKinnon (1963) and Kenen (1969). Those authors identified characteristics that potential members of a monetary union should ideally possess in order to make it feasible to surrender a nationally-tailored monetary policy and the adjustment of an exchange rate of a national currency. We trace the development of optimum-currency-area theory, which, after a flurry of research into the subject in the 1960s, was relegated to intellectual purgatory for about 20 years. We then discuss factors that led to a renewed interest into the subject, beginning in the early 1990s. Milton Friedman plays a pivotal role in our narrative; Friedman's work on monetary integration in the early 1950s presaged subsequent optimum-currency-area contributions; Mundell's classic formulation of an optimal currency area was aimed, in part, at refuting Friedman's strong case for floating exchange rates; and Friedman's work on the role of monetary policy had the effect of helping to revive interest in optimum-currency-area analysis. The paper concludes with a discussion of recent analytical work, using New Keynesian models, which has the promise of fulfilling the unfinished agenda set-out by the original contributors to the optimum-currency-area literature, that is, providing a consistent framework in which a country's characteristics can be used to determine its optimal exchange-rate regime.

Anticipating a new Golden Age

The standard model of fundamental interactions is remarkably successful, but it leaves an unfinished agenda. Several major questions seem ripe for exploration in the near future. I anticipate that the coming decade will be a Golden Age of discovery in fundamental physics.

Bridging the Gender Gap in Developing Regions

According to conventional wisdom, health and education are important factors for economic and social development: they improve productivity and income distribution, and the poor gain the most. Nonetheless, in many regions of the world not all members of society receive these services equally. To a large extent, women are left out of health and education systems; as a consequence, they constitute an economically and socially disadvantaged group. This article analyzes the gender gaps within health and education in six regions of the developing world: Sub-Saharan Africa; South Asia; East and Southeast Asia; The Middle East and North Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean; Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In all of these regions, there is an unfinished agenda in terms of access and equity.

Unfinished Agenda of Reforms

This paper gives a brief overview of Pakistan’s economic growth over the past decades and critically examines the economic policies of the last government. It draws attention to the unchecked state dominance across all sectors of the economy and emphasizes the need for further privatization. The paper concludes with some suggestions on the way forward towards growth and economic prosperity.