This paper presents evidence from a global study of the scale and impact of foreign investment in tourism, highlighting the implications for small island developing states (SIDS). It draws upon findings from a two-year United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) research and policy analysis project based on a global survey of transnational hotel groups with a presence in developing countries and in-depth case studies of domestic and international investment in tourism in twelve countries. The project aimed to provide empirical evidence to help policymaking in developing countries that wish to benefit more from tourism foreign direct investment (FDI). It does not favour foreign investment above domestic investment, but aims simply to provide more information on an aspect which is increasingly a policy priority for developing countries and which is not frequently addressed in empirical terms in the literature.

International policy discussions on plastic pollution are entering a new phase, with more than 100 governments calling for the launch of negotiations for a new global plastics agreement in 2022. This article aims to contribute to efforts to identify effective international policy levers to address plastic pollution. It takes stock of the evolution of views and perceptions on this complex and multi-faceted topic—from concerns about marine pollution and waste management towards new strategic directions that involve the entire plastics life-cycle and include climate and health impacts associated with the proliferation of plastics. It also traces the progressive development of responses—from voluntary approaches invovling multiple stakeholders to national and international approaches focused on regulation. The paper is informed by desk research, a literature review and participation by the authors in informal and formal global governance processes on plastic pollution, the environment and development in the United Nations and World Trade Organization between 2019 and 2021. It also draws on empirical findings from a novel and original database on the life-cycle of plastic trade created by the authors. The paper argues that the important focus on downstream dimensions of plastic pollution—and strategies to address them—needs to be complemented by a broad life-cycle and “upstream” perspective that addresses plastic pollution at its source. It highlights the political economy tensions and inconsistencies at hand, observing that while some countries are taking concerted efforts to reduce pollution (including through bans on certain kinds of plastic and plastic products); to promote more circular plastic economies; and to reduce the carbon footprint of plastics (as part of a wider effort to decarbonize their economies), trade and investment in the plastic industry continues to rise. The paper argues that to reduce plastic pollution, emerging global governance efforts must integrate international environmental law and cooperation with a complementary and enabling global framework that addresses the economic, financial, industrial and trade policies needed to drive the necessary transformation of the plastics sector.

With the outbreak of the global Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, economic activity came to a grinding halt as demands for financial support in health, business, and government skyrocketed. In spring 2020 we assembled a team of experts to conduct rapid response research on how public banks worldwide responded to the Covid-19 crisis. The team employed case study methods to examine cases in the global north and south. A synthesis of our findings is presented here. We conclude that the most promising public bank responses to the crisis were those substantively guided by public purpose. Where public purpose had a more challenging relationship to public bank responses, the responses were more ambiguous and more difficult to differentiate from private banks. This rapid response study also points to promising lessons for how public banks can help to catalyse 'build forward better' momentum and it raises a series of questions in need of further research.

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Running Regressions introduces first-year social science undergraduates, particularly those studying economics and business, to the practical aspects of simple regression analysis, without adopting an esoteric, mathematical approach. It shows that statistical analysis can be simultaneously straightforward, useful and interesting, and can deal with topical, real-world issues. Each chapter introduces an economic theory or idea by relating it to an issue of topical interest, and explains how data and econometric analysis can be used to test it. The book can be used as a self-standing text or to supplement conventional econometric texts. It is also ideally suited as a guide to essays and project work.