What can we learn from microdata about household savings in recent years?
The purpose of Bank Overground is to share our internal analysis. Each bite-sized post summarises a piece of analysis that supported a policy or operational decision.
How NGO Activism Can Move the Dial for Sustainability
In terms of the E&S issues they “wash”, the most frequently identified claims related to firms’ impacts on climate change (30 percent of all allegations), consumer health benefits (22 percent), and waste handling (11 percent). Other allegations related to biodiversity, animal welfare, as well as employee rights and safety. Further, we found that E&S-washing occurred most on product labels or packaging (25.3 percent of allegations), advertising (23.1 percent) and public relations…
War in Lebanon has turned a decade of education crisis into a catastrophe – report
The recent conflict in Lebanon has deepened a national education crisis in which children have already lost up to 60% of school time over the past six years, new research warns.The report, by the Centre for Lebanese Studies and the University of Cambridge’s REAL Centre, is the first to assess the state of education since Israel began its ground offensive in Lebanon in October. Using surveys and interviews with parents…
A third of people from Chicago carry concealed handguns in public before they reach middle age
Around a third (32%) of people who grew up in Chicago have carried a concealed firearm on the city streets at least once by the time they turn 40 years old, according to a major study of gun usage taking in a quarter of a century of data.Urban sociologists behind the research argue that such carry rates are likely to be similar across many other major US cities. The research…
Programme of the 15th Asian Conference
The goal of the conference is to have an open and in-depth discussion on Russian and Asian perspectives on the most significant issues of global and regional development and cooperation. Organizers see the goal as a joint effort to find solutions to current challenges. Programme of the 15th Asian Conferenceof the Valdai Discussion Club in partnership with Bait Al Amanah, Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Institute of Strategic Analysis and Policy…
Celebrate the Season Without Dividing Your Team: Inclusive Holiday Tips
The holiday season may be billed as the most wonderful time of the year, but it’s often a minefield of conflicts waiting to happen. Holidays are deeply personal, sparking joy and nostalgia for some while leaving others feeling excluded or stressed. With 44% of Millennials and nearly 50% of Gen Z employees identifying as part of underrepresented groups—and these two generations now making up over 50% of the workforce –…
Just Transition: How Can We Ensure Low-Carbon Development for the Benefit of the Entire Planet?
Some of the difficulties are also related to the fact that a just low-carbon transition has so many close ties with other aspects of the global economy that it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is only possible in a just international order. For example, modern trade policy provides us with the clearest illustration of an unfair energy transition. The European Union and the United Kingdom are…
Author Talks: Tony Blair on leadership essentials
In this edition of Author Talks, McKinsey Global Publishing’s Raju Narisetti chats with Tony Blair, founder and executive chair of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, about his book, On Leadership: Lessons for the 21st Century (Crown/Penguin Random House, September 2024). In 2016, Blair established TBI, a not-for-profit that supports leaders and governments on strategy, policy, and delivery, with a…
The Top 10 MIT SMR Articles of 2024
subscribe-icon Subscribe Share In 2023, generative AI became the topic every leader wanted to learn more about. In 2024, many leaders and organizations moved beyond the tactical AI questions to the strategic ones — such as where to reap the most business value while minimizing risk. For example, how can AI help your organization improve key performance indicators? Our No. 3 story offers in-depth, research-based answers. Another example: Who in…
Unconventional partnerships: The real estate developer’s innovation edge
Global real estate development, which has never been simple, has in recent years become more complex. Building “green,” once a choice and a differentiator for developers, is increasingly the only way to satisfy new regulations, consumer preferences, and investor expectations. New technologies—many powered by recent advances in AI and generative AI (gen AI)—offer huge opportunities but can require detailed knowledge. Higher interest rates, supply chain snafus, and greater market uncertainty…
Is the Affordable Care Act on Life Support?
What was the ACA intended to do? If you go back to the beginning, healthcare reform was supposed to be a lot of different reforms rolled together. That included insurance reform, meaning that private insurance would be more consistent and meet a basic standard for essential items that must be covered by insurance. There was never a federal requirement for that before the ACA. Another goal was expansion—covering more…
The Linkage between Russia’s Mir and Iran’s Shetab Payment Systems
In addition, Iran and Russia have succeeded in synchronising “the banking messengers”. On January 29, 2023, the central banks of Iran and Russia signed a deal to connect their national interbank communication and transfer systems to help boost trade and ease two-way bank transactions. In fact, since one of the preconditions for creating a SWIFT-like system between Iran and Russia is the development of native interbank messenger systems, this issue…
Decoding the mysteries of the universe
How fast is the universe expanding? What is dark matter? Where did we come from?These questions of life, the universe, and everything are just some of the big topics that motivate the new Center for Decoding the Universe at Stanford.Launched in October, the center is an interdisciplinary partnership between Stanford Data Science (SDS) and the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology (KIPAC). The center is the newest of five faculty-led centers…
The SCC lowers the legal threshold for challenging the vires of subordinate legislation
Although the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Vavilov1 established a general framework for selecting which standard to apply on judicial review, it left open which standard of review applies to reviewing the vires of subordinate legislation, including regulations and guidelines. Vavilov therefore generated lingering uncertainty about whether pre-Vavilov principles still applied in such cases. The SCC had established in Katz Group2 that a regulation would only be struck down…
Your Money or Your Points
Imagine having two wallets – one filled with cash, the other with airline miles or hotel points. Which would you reach for when it’s time to pay? The answer, according to our new paper, coauthored with Freddy Lim from the National University of Singapore, says a lot about you as a consumer and carries potentially lucrative implications for the multi-billion-dollar loyalty programme industry. Our study of data from a major US airline…
Context is key: Tanguy Catlin on advancing the future of insurance
In October 2024, more than 9,000 participants running the gamut of insurance industry players gathered for the annual ITC Vegas insurance conference. The hot topic of the conference, unsurprisingly, was the use of generative AI (gen AI) and its potential implications for the insurance industry. In this episode of the McKinsey on Insurance podcast, Matt Cooke, global director of marketing and communications for McKinsey’s Financial Services Practice, sat down at…
Elections 2024: Promises vs progress
From promises to progress: are Labour’s goals becoming reality? Recorded live at Prospect, this podcast delves into Labour’s journey since the UK and USA 2024 elections. Chaired by Prospect Editor Alan Rusbridger, the panel—featuring Baroness Simone Finn, Janine Gibson, and Mike Soutar—analyses economic reforms, employment rights, and leadership lessons. Are they delivering on their promises? Listen to the podcast. Reading time: 2 minutes Podcast recap: Elections 2024 – Promises vs…
Don’t Overlook Year-End HDHP Changes to Telehealth Cost-Sharing
Quick Hits 2024 year-end HDHP plan amendments: Employers that offer HDHPs may need to amend their plans before the end of the year to remove first-dollar telehealth coverage since the regulatory relief allowing this coverage without cost sharing is set to expire at the end of 2024. Impact on HSA contributions: Absent an extension of regulatory relief permitting employers to provide telehealth coverage without cost sharing, starting on January 1,…
Régime de responsabilité sans faute : dommages moraux, perte de salaire et autres préjudices corporels en cas d’accident automobile
L’étendue du régime de responsabilité sans égard à la faute prévu à la Loi sur l’assurance automobile (LAA) a été balisée par la Cour supérieure du Québec dans la décision Roberge c. Compagnie General Motors du Canada, 2023 QCCS 4309. Cette décision synthétise les critères d’application des règles de la LAA en présence d’un accident automobile causant un préjudice. Elle constitue un précédent offrant une référence claire en ce qui concerne…
Google launches the London AI Campus
Google has launched the AI Campus in Somers Town, Camden, home to a two-year education pilot aimed to help inspire, inform, and educate local sixth form students in the …
Health media: How consumer content informs the future of healthcare
Healthcare organizations, especially health systems, have a large, untapped opportunity to use their clinical expertise and reputation to serve health media (medically validated, contextually relevant content, including advertising) to engage, support, and educate consumers. The health media trend is accelerating concurrently with healthcare organizations’ efforts to boost digital engagement with consumers as they engage with their care—for example, through a more sophisticated digital front door and personalized marketing efforts (moving…
Andrey Bystritskiy Speaks at the Opening of the ‘Understanding China’ Conference
For development, the world needs an image of the future, and now this image of a convenient and comfortable future for all of humanity is emerging in the interaction of the countries of the Global South: those countries that in Russia we call the world majority. China’s global initiative to create a community of “shared destiny for humanity” is an extremely important element of the emerging future world structure, Andrey Bystritsky, Chairman of the Board of the Foundation for Development and Support of the Valdai Discussion Club, told guests at the…
The metaverse reborn
Euphoria The metaverse, which harnessed the power of cutting-edge electronics to create highly immersive virtual spaces, promised a flourishing meta-economy worth $12.5 trillion, according to Goldman Sachs. This new creative economy, focused entirely on consumers and their avatars, was based on the premise that 33% of the digital economy would migrate towards these kinds of new environments of this type, and that they would grow at a rate of 25%…
Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus: Crisis and Recovery
3 December 2024By Daniela Filip, Klaus Masuch, Ralph Setzer and Vilém Valenta At the height of the financial crisis Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus needed help. The international assistance came under the condition of economic adjustment aiming to restore financial stability, debt sustainability and growth. How did the four countries recover from their crises?Many euro area countries experienced fiscal troubles and financial stress during the crisis years, especially during the…
Professor Joya Chatterji awarded Wolfson History Prize 2024
This year’s Wolfson History Prize has been awarded to Joya Chatterji, Emeritus Professor of South Asian History and Fellow of Trinity College, for her book Shadows At Noon: The South Asian Twentieth Century, first published in 2023.The book charts the story of the subcontinent from the British Raj through independence and partition to the forging of the modern nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Chatterji’s history pushes back against standard narratives…
Study shows that chimpanzees perform the same complex behaviours that have brought humans success
Our results suggest that the sequences of actions that wild chimpanzees use to perform their tool-use behaviours share many properties with those of humans, and so likely evolved before the last common ancestors of humans and chimps. Lead researcher Dr Elliot Howard-SpinkMany human behaviours are more complex than those of other animals, involving the production of elaborate sequences (such as spoken language, or tool manufacturing). These sequences include the ability to…
Oxford University to lead AI security research through new national laboratory partnership
Announced at the recent NATO Cyber Defence Conference, LASR will bring together industry, academic, and government experts to boost Britain’s cyber resilience and support growth. Leading researchers from Oxford University’s Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences (MPLS) Division and Global Cyber Security Capacity Centre will work alongside partner institutions, government bodies, and commercial stakeholders.By bringing together diverse expertise and perspectives, LASR will take a comprehensive and strategic approach towards addressing the complex…
For major U.S. cities, the ‘donut effect’ persists
What is the shelf life of a freshly baked donut? Two days, tops.But when it comes to an entirely different kind of donut – one that Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom described early in the pandemic when he measured the exodus of people from city centers to city suburbs – there appears to be no expiration date.That’s the key takeaway of Bloom’s research of the “donut effect,” a term he helped…
No certification for Boal investors – Fiduciary duty ruled individual issue
The evolving landscape of fiduciary duties in the investment industry Since the Client-Focused Reforms were introduced in 2019, the investment industry has been closely following whether these reforms will result in Courts imposing fiduciary duties on registrants. Against this backdrop, the proposed class action in Boal v. International Capital Management Inc. et al. (Boal) has been closely watched as a test case. Starting in 2021 and culminating in a 2023…
Make Them Laugh, Sell Them Stuff
Then there’s "Hump Day", in which a talking camel excitedly asks office workers what day it is. No prizes for guessing what the correct answer is. The 2013 campaign, by auto insurance firm GEICO, did not just increase brand awareness and engagement. It became a cultural phenomenon. The clincher? The simplicity and relatability of the joke. Another hit campaign latches onto the fact that hunger can make us cranky. In "You're Not…
Enterprise technology’s next chapter: Four gen AI shifts that will reshape business technology
Companies often overestimate the impact of short-term changes in technology and underestimate the effect of long-term changes. This well-known dynamic is particularly relevant for generative AI (gen AI) in enterprise technology. Today’s many bold predictions about its impact on enterprise technology often focus on shorter-term horizons (with immediate focus on efficiency and productivity in two to three use cases) rather than on more forward-looking shifts and implications. Our recent discussions…
Risks of Regional Wars in the Middle East: A Perspective from India
As tensions in the Middle East continue to escalate, India has found itself navigating a complex web of economic, strategic, and security concerns. What began as conflict between Israel and Hamas now risks expanding into a broader regional conflagration involving Iran and its network of allies. India’s significant ties with key Middle Eastern countries mean that the stakes are high for New Delhi. In order to safeguard its interests, India…
AI for IT modernization: Faster, cheaper, better
At the heart of virtually every large organization is a massive anchor slowing a business down: the tech debt found in legacy IT systems. Often built decades ago, these large systems form the technical backbone of companies and functions across almost every sector. As much as 70 percent of the software used by Fortune 500 companies was developed 20 or more years ago (see sidebar “What are legacy systems, and…
Four Leadership Loads That Keep Getting Heavier
Topics Column Our expert columnists offer opinion and analysis on important issues facing modern businesses and managers. More in this series subscribe-icon Subscribe Share Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Feeling emotionally drained at work? Is your patience exhausted? Your energy low? If so, you’re showing clinical markers of burnout. And you’re not alone. In a January 2024 mental health survey conducted by NAMI, more than half of all managers…
OFCCP Says New Monthly Employment Data Reports Will Start With March 2025
Quick Hits OFCCP announced that its new Form CC-257 required monthly employment data reporting for covered federal contractors and subcontractors will launch in March 2025 and be due by April 15, 2025. Reports will cover a calendar month and be due the fifteenth of the following month unless the fifteenth falls on a weekend or holiday, on which the report will be due the next business day. The new reports…
Conciliation and mediation: The way forward for the WTO?
Over the course of his first term in office, President Trump made no secret of his skepticism towards the World Trade Organization (WTO). In 2018, he threatened to withdraw the United States from the WTO if it did not “shape up”. During a White House press briefing in September of 2020, he stated that “the WTO, as far as I’m concerned, was created to suck money and jobs out of…
The Good, the Bad, and the Unpredictable in Trump’s Cabinet
This commentary originally appeared in Fortune. President-elect Donald Trump caught many by surprise last week when he announced plans to install far-reaching tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada and increase existing tariffs on goods imported from China by an additional 10% on his first day in office. During the campaign, “tariff man” had promised to enact such broad-based tariffs to increase federal revenues and punish countries for taking advantage…
Reimagining procurement
This transcript has been edited lightly for clarity.Is it time for a procurement (r)evolution? Mauro Erriquez: Dominique, thank you for being with us today. It’s amazing that we have an opportunity to talk about the future of procurement. Many of my clients are saying they have never seen such a challenging period like the last two years. Is your view the same? Dominique Lebigot: Yes, there has been this pandemic,…
Researchers deal a blow to theory that Venus once had liquid water on its surface
The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, studied the chemical composition of the Venusian atmosphere and inferred that its interior is too dry today for there ever to have been enough water for oceans to exist at its surface. Instead, the planet has likely been a scorching, inhospitable world for its entire history.The results, reported in the journal Nature Astronomy, have implications for understanding Earth’s uniqueness, and for the search…
New datasets will train AI models to think like scientists
The initiative, called Polymathic AI, uses technology like that powering large language models such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. But instead of ingesting text, the project’s models learn using scientific datasets from across astrophysics, biology, acoustics, chemistry, fluid dynamics and more, essentially giving the models cross-disciplinary scientific knowledge.“These datasets are by far the most diverse large-scale collections of high-quality data for machine learning training ever assembled for these fields,”…
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