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Technology and Development Redux
Blockchains and Food Safety
Trade is one of the main trademarks of the globalization process. Nowadays, most countries exchange products and services regularly and use local comparative advantages to specialize in specific trade sectors and/or commodities. Food and agricultural products are important components of
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E-government Development II
In this sequel post, I will look at the various components of the UNDESA e-government index and then introduce the EIU democracy index to explore potential interlinks between the two, Components The e-government development index (EGDI) comprises three distinct components
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Waste no time waiting for e-Waste data
The town where I currently reside is planning to change its e-Waste collection policy starting next year. As it is today, town people can go downtown once a month and drop their old computers, laptops, monitors and the rest. This
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Have You Ever Seen a Blockchain?
A silent but intense competition seems to be taking place when it comes to defining blockchain technology. A Google search for the question “What is blockchain” yields over 120 million possible results. This number includes thousands of guides, videos, FAQs
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Case Study: WFP Building Blocks Jordan Refugee Pilot
[I wrote this edited draft case study for a larger blockchain research project led by The GovLab. The final project report included a shorter version of my draft.] 1. Overview Launched in January 2017, the World Food Program Building Blocks
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Democracy and Capitalism: Friends or Foes?
The post-WWII era can be arguably defined as the golden age of democratic capitalism – at least from the perspective of developed or industrialized countries. Rebuilding Europe and pumping capital into Japan triggered a long economic boom that lasted until
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Blockchains: The Patents Are Coming!
Open source is one of the core traits of blockchain technology propelling its rapid adoption and growth. The source code from the most popular platforms such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Hyperledger Fabric is freely available for download by anyone who
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Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox in STEM, Part II
In the previous post, I detailed some issues that could help explain in part the gender-equality STEM paradox. Recap These can be summarized as follows: The Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) measures gaps not levels. It is thus a relative
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Deconstructing the Gender-Equality Paradox in STEM
A paper on the subject published a couple of weeks ago in the academic journal Psychological Science attracted plenty of attention thanks to some of its surprising conclusions.1 The paper is behind a paywall. Its main finding is that, contrary
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Blockchain Technology and Human Development revisited
I was invited to Canada to discuss my blockchain technology paper. Here are my opening remarks at the panel organized by Government Affairs and IDRC. Speaking about a seemingly complex subject such as blockchains poses a challenge not only for
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An Overview of Blockchain Technology and Digital Identity
Like previous digital technologies, such as the Internet, blockchain technology (BCT) has been driven by a high degree of techno-optimism not yet backed by on the ground impact or reliable evidence. Undoubtedly, the technology, which is still in its infancy,
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Overall Perspectives on Technology
Disruptive, transformative and revolutionary are some adjectives commonly used to describe the potential impact of new and emerging technologies on society. Joblessness, human decay, and the Singularity sit on the opposite side, constantly reminding us of the darker side of
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Cryptocurrencies and Development
While not the only cryptocurrency around, Bitcoin was the first to solve the well-known double-spending problem that characterizes digital currencies. Tackling the issue demanded the creation of blockchain technology (BCT) combined with a brute force algorithm known as proof of
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Identifying the Displaced
After remittances and land titles, refugees are perhaps one of the primary targets of blockchain technology (BCT) initiatives promoting development or social impact. Bitnation, Aid:Tech and the UN World Food Programme, among many others, are good examples. Last month, at
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Identifying the Unidentified
Identity access and management (IAM) is perhaps one of the areas where Blockchain Technology (BCT) could make a real difference. Research I am currently undertaken indicates that over one hundred BCT startups around the globe are focusing on this area.
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Social Innovation Redux
Context I was invited to the Social Innovation – Driving Force for Social Change (SI-DRIVE) final conference, which took place earlier this week in Brussels. SI-DRIVE is a four-year project funded by the EU and launched in 2014. The project
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Blockchain Technology and Human Development
The blockchain tsunami has reached the shores of all seven continents in the world. It would be fair to say most Capitals have been flooded, slowly coming to terms with the new technology’s potential impact. Cryptography, hashing, Merkle trees, peer-to-peer
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Internet Access and Human Development
A recent news article nicely summarized efforts by Silicon Valley tech giants to close the so-called digital divide in developing countries. Not that this kind of initiatives is new – not at all. In fact, a plethora of projects and
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Democracy Index and Human Development
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has recently published the latest iteration of its democracy index. The biggest headline about the new EIU report was the demotion of the US from “full” to “flawed democracy”, complemented by the medium-term decline of
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More on Measuring Human Development
In a previous blog, I examined the relation between GDP and the Human Development Index (HDI) which has been published annually for the last 25 years by the UN Development Programme (UNDP). In this post, I want to dive a
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Measuring Well-Being and Human Development
GDP: Thanks, but no thanks A recent issue of The Economist had a couple of articles (plus the issue’s cover) on measuring prosperity, defined as the advance in living standards overtime. Nowadays, gross domestic product, GDP,1 We can also include
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Technology and Development in History
Nowadays, the diffusion pace of technologies on a global scale is unprecedented. This is true for Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) best represented by the Internet (and all its newer platforms) and mobile technologies. Most will also agree that technologies somehow play
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Digital Dividends Déjà Vu
Background The first time I run into the notion of digital dividends was at the end of the last century. At the time, the first dot-com boom still running at full steam, totally unaware of the looming crash. Building on
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Information Disclosure Panel meeting
Yesterday, I attended the first formal meeting of the Information Disclosure Oversight Panel which is being supported by BRSP/Civil Society unit. The information disclosure policy of UNDP was approved by the EB back in 1997, after extensive discussions and reviews
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Irish Aid Meeting
Today, Stephen, Sarah and myself met with an Irish Aid delegation which included Mr. Tom Hanney- Director, Multilateral UN Policy, Ms. Dympna Hayes Deputy Director, Multilateral UN Policy, and Ms. Joana Betson, First Secretary. Mission of Ireland to the UN.
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