President Donald J. Trump has withdrawn the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement. Announcing his decision, the president declared, “This was a horrible, one-sided deal that should never, ever have been made.” The agreement – technically the Joint Comprehensive… Continue Reading
This post discusses the ways in which maternity leave policies discourage the participation of women of childbearing age in the MENA labor force, and particularly in Jordan. Continue Reading
The elections that will be held in Cuba on April 19 undoubtedly represents the most important election since 1979 — for the first time in nearly 60 years, someone from outside the Castro family will lead the country. Although the change at the top of the Cuban regime may not constitute a radical change in the political system, the symbolic significance of a post-Castro era cannot be overstated. Continue Reading
Chile’s seventh presidential election since its transition to a democracy in 1990 was decided in a run-off election on December 17, 2017. The incumbent, President Michelle Bachelet — from the center-left ruling coalition Nueva Mayoría — lost against Sebastián Piñera… Continue Reading
President Trump’s shake-up of his foreign policy team continues. He replaced Secretary of State Rex Tillerson with CIA director Mike Pompeo last week. On Thursday, Trump announced that he replaced national security advisor H.R. McMaster with John Bolton, a former… Continue Reading
In many ways, Rex Tillerson faced an uphill battle from the beginning. He struggled with a chaotic White House and a dysfunctional policymaking system. Tillerson may not have played his cards particularly well, but he was probably dealt a losing hand to begin with. Continue Reading
The top seven cities in the U.S. for startups in 2016 were San Francisco, New York, Boston, Cambridge, Palo Alto, Austin, and Seattle. These cities each received $2 billion in investment, had 58 new deals, and had 479 active VC-backed… Continue Reading