Stanford University

Advancing Sustainable Industrial Development: APARC and Ban Ki-moon Foundation to Host Third Annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue

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The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) at Stanford University and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future announced today the third annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue (TPSD), set to take place at Stanford University on October 10-11, 2024. This year's dialogue focuses on promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, fostering innovation, and building resilient infrastructure — the vision encompassed in Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9). Registration for the conference is now open.

APARC and the Ban Ki-moon Foundation launched the TPSD initiative in 2022 to fast-track the United Nations-adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its underlying 17 Global Goals. By gathering social science researchers and scientists from Stanford University and across the Asia-Pacific region alongside government officials, experts from the private and public sectors, and emerging leaders, the dialogue initiative aims to spur transnational research and policy collaborations to expedite the implementation of the SDGs.

This year’s event follows the momentum generated in previous dialogue gatherings held in Asia, most recently the 2023 TPSD on energy security (SDG 7) and its last sub-regional dialogue on peace and justice (SDG 16). Convening this year for the first time at Stanford University, the two-day event is made possible thanks to the active co-organization of multiple partners: the Asian Development Bank, Ewha Womans University, Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission, Korea Environment Institute, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, and the Natural Capital Project of Stanford University.

With just six years remaining, progress on the 2030 Agenda is severely lagging worldwide. According to the 2024 Sustainable Development Goals Report, only 17 percent of the SDG targets are on track, nearly half are showing minimal or moderate progress, and progress on over one-third has stalled since 2020 or even regressed below the 2015 baseline levels. Against this backdrop, this year’s TPSD will center on SDG 9 and its foundational role in the Global Goals framework. The vision at the core of SDG 9 — namely, industrial development that makes opportunities accessible to all and is grounded in technological innovation and resilient infrastructure — is pivotal for achieving economic resilience, social development, and the green transition toward a decarbonized future.

The 2024 TPSD will offer a unique platform for cross-sector leaders to highlight where interventions are most urgently needed to close disparities in achieving SDG 9 and assess best practices to expedite progress.
Gi-Wook Shin
Director, Shorenstein APARC

"The 2024 TPSD will offer a unique platform for cross-sector leaders to highlight where interventions are most urgently needed to close disparities in achieving SDG 9 and assess best practices to expedite progress,” said Stanford sociologist Gi-Wook Shin, the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea and director of APARC. “With Stanford’s innovation ecosystem, industry collaboration, and commitment to accelerating interdisciplinary solutions to global challenges, there is no better place to pursue this work."

Day One of the dialogue will open with a plenary focused on the role of world leaders in advancing higher education and sustainable innovation, featuring Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations; Zandanshatar Gombojav, Chairman of the 7th and 8th State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia; Eun Mee Kim, President of Ewha Womans University; and Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Director of the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy. The following plenary sessions will examine practical pathways and policies for catalyzing climate change diplomacy across sectors, sustainable industrialization in the Indo-Pacific, and financing for resilient infrastructure in the region.

"With only six years left to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, we are facing increasing instability and uncertainty due to serious global challenges: the worsening climate crisis, the exacerbation of regional conflicts, and the deepening of economic inequality,” notes Mr. Ban. “Under these challenging circumstances, the significance of this 2024 Dialogue lies in accelerating multilateral cooperation among Asia-Pacific countries to share experiences and knowledge to narrow the gap in achieving the goal of building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation."

On Day Two, expert sessions will discuss strategies for leveraging investments, cooperation, and ecopreneurship for resilient infrastructure and social change. The day will also include a policy roundtable on integrating the value of the environment into policy and decision-making for sustainable development and two parallel workshops with young scholars and entrepreneurs, highlighting the role of emerging leaders in shaping the future of sustainable industry. They will present their work on design thinking for developing sustainable technology and equitable infrastructure and strengthening labor force participation and development for inclusive industries.

The 2024 TPSD reflects the commitment of APARC, the Ban Ki-moon Foundation, and our partners to advance stronger and more effective international cooperation to create a surge in the implementation of the SDGs. We invite scholars, policymakers, industry leaders, civil society experts, and all interested stakeholders to join us in this effort.

To register for the conference and access the full program, visit the 2024 TPSD webpage.

About the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
The Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC) is Stanford University's esteemed institute dedicated to addressing critical issues impacting Asia and its relations with the United States. Through interdisciplinary research, education, and dialogue, APARC seeks to shape innovative policy solutions and enhance collaboration among countries in the Asia-Pacific region. For more information, visit aparc.stanford.edu.

About the Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future
The Ban Ki-moon Foundation For a Better Future upholds the legacy and vision of Ban Ki-moon, the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations. Guided by the principles of unification, communication, co-existence, and dedication, the Foundation works tirelessly towards achieving peace, security, development, and human rights. Collaborating with international organizations and stakeholders, the Foundation actively supports the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the 2050 carbon net-zero target set by the Paris Climate Accord. For more information, visit eng.bf4bf.or.kr.

Contact

For further information on the Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue, contact Cheryll Alipio, Shorenstein APARC’s Associate Director for Program and Policy at calipio@stanford.edu.

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Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue 2024: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
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Held at Stanford University on October 10-11, 2024, the third annual Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue will unite social science researchers, scientists, policymakers, and emerging leaders from Stanford University and the Asia-Pacific region to accelerate resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.

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Mobilizing for Elections: Patronage and Political Machines in Southeast Asia

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Mobilizing for Elections: Patronage and Political Machines in Southeast Asia

Across Southeast Asia, as in many other regions of the world, politicians seek to win elections by distributing cash, goods, jobs, projects, and other material benefits to supporters. But they do so in ways that vary tremendously—both across and within countries. This project presents a new framework for analyzing variation in patronage democracies, developed through examination of distinct forms of patronage and different networks through which it is distributed. We draw on a large-scale, multi-country, multi-year research effort involving not only interactions with hundreds of politicians and vote brokers but also surveys of voters and political campaigners across the region. At the core of the analysis is the concept of electoral mobilization regimes, used to describe how key types of patronage interact with the networks that politicians use to organize and distribute these material resources: political parties in Malaysia, local machines in the Philippines, and ad hoc election teams in Indonesia. In doing so, we show how and why patronage politics varies, and how it works on the ground.

Weiss, Meredith 20241002

Meredith Weiss is Professor of Political Science in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY) and inaugural Director of the SUNY/CUNY Southeast Asia Consortium (SEAC). Her work, which draws on extensive field research, addresses mobilization, identity, and civil society; electoral politics and parties; institutional reform; and subnational governance in Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore. Her most recent books are The Roots of Resilience: Political Machines & Grassroots Politics in Southeast Asia (Cornell, 2020), and the co-authored Money & Machines: Mobilizing for Elections in Southeast Asia (Cambridge, 2022). These join two prior monographs, several dozen journal articles and chapters, and over a dozen edited/co-edited volumes. She also co-edits the Cambridge Elements series, Politics & Society in Southeast Asia. As a Lee Kong Chian NUS–Stanford fellow this year, she is completing a book on Malaysian sociopolitical development.

Meredith Weiss

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2024-2025
Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellow on Southeast Asia, Fall 2024-Winter 2025
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Meredith L. Weiss joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as 2024-2025 Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellow on Southeast Asia from September 2024 to April 2025. She is Professor of Political Science in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York (SUNY). In several books—most recently, The Roots of Resilience: Party Machines and Grassroots Politics in Southeast Asia (Cornell, 2020), and the co-authored Mobilizing for Elections: Patronage and Political Machines in Southeast Asia (Cambridge, 2022)—numerous articles, and over a dozen edited or co-edited volumes, she addresses issues of social mobilization, civil society, and collective identity; electoral politics and parties; and governance, regime change, and institutional reform in Southeast Asia, especially Malaysia and Singapore. She has conducted years of fieldwork in those two countries, along with shorter periods in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Timor-Leste, and has held visiting fellowships or professorships in Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, and the US. Weiss is the founding Director of the SUNY/CUNY Southeast Asia Consortium (SEAC) and co-edits the Cambridge Elements series, Politics & Society in Southeast Asia. As a Lee Kong Chian NUS–Stanford fellow, she worked primarily on a book manuscript on Malaysian sociopolitical development.

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Meredith Weiss, 2024-2025 Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellow on Contemporary Southeast Asia
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Taiwan’s Roles in the Global Supply Chain: TSMC and How It Moves from Local to Global

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Taiwan’s Roles in the Global Supply Chain: TSMC and How It Moves from Local to Global

Join us for a conversation with Lora Ho as she discusses the transformation of TSMC and its pivotal role in expanding the semiconductor supply chain from Taiwan to the global stage.

Lora will first share her experiences at TSMC, reflecting on the company’s evolution throughout her career and its impact on the global supply chain. She will also address the new challenges TSMC faces as it expands its industrial supply chain by establishing factories in the United States and Japan and consider how her leadership has helped navigate these challenges in the context of the AI-driven industrial revolution.

Attendees will gain a comprehensive understanding of AI-driven industrial changes and Taiwan's strategic position within the global supply chain.

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Lora Ho joined TSMC in 1999 and has held several positions during her 25-year tenure. She currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources and the Chair of the ESG committee. Throughout her career, she has gained extensive experience, including serving as Senior Vice President for Europe & Asia sales at TSMC from 2019 to 2022, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at TSMC from 1999 to 2018. Prior to her time at TSMC, she was the Chief Financial Officer at TI-Acer Semiconductor Manufacturing from 1990 to 1999.

Lora Ho has been recognized for her contributions to the industry with several awards. In 2018, she was named one of the Nine Most Influential Women in Asia Tech by Nikkei Asian Review magazine. Between 2007 and 2019, she was recognized as the Best Companies’ Best CFO of Taiwan and Asia by FinanceAsia. In 1993, she was honored as an Outstanding Financial Executive by the Financial Executives Institute.

Lora Ho, Senior Vice President and ESG Committee Chairperson for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC)
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Xinxin Lu

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Visiting Student Researcher, 2024-2025
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Xinxin Lu joined the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting student researcher in the fall of 2025 until winter 2026. She is currently a doctoral student in Sociology at Tsinghua University. Her dissertation focuses on "The Dying and the Chinese Family: The Economic, Moral, and Cultural Logic of End-of-Life Care in China."

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Matthew Dolbow

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Visiting Scholar at APARC, 2024-2026
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Matthew Dolbow joins the Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC) as visiting scholar from 2024 to 2026 from the U.S. Department of State.  Before coming to APARC, Mr. Dolbow strengthened U.S. military deterrence capabilities in Asia as the U.S. Consul General in Okinawa, Japan.  As Chief of Staff in the U.S. National Security Council’s international economics office during the first Trump administration, Mr. Dolbow helped compile the 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy, which declared for the first time that "economic security is national security," and thus helped to establish a new bipartisan U.S. consensus on innovative trade, investment screening, and energy policies that increased U.S. competitiveness and secured the U.S. defense industrial base. As head of economic strategy at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing from 2013 to 2016, Mr. Dolbow created a Department of State-wide training program that taught colleagues to track and assess China's Belt and Road Initiative projects.  While at APARC, he will be conducting research on competition with China related to technology, innovation, human capital, and national security.

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Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue 2024: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

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Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue 2024: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

The Trans-Pacific Sustainability Dialogue convenes social science researchers and scientists from Stanford University and across the Asia-Pacific region, alongside policymakers, private and public sector experts, and emerging leaders to accelerate progress on achieving the United Nations-adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Dialogue aims to generate new research and policy partnerships to expedite the implementation of the Agenda's underlying framework of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 2024 Dialogue focuses on advancing SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. It will be held at Stanford University on October 10 and 11, 2024, Pacific Time, and is free and open to the public.

This year's main host and organizer is Stanford University's Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (Shorenstein APARC). The co-host is the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future. The co-organizers are the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Ewha Womans University, Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission, Korea Environment Institute (KEI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea (MOFA), and the Natural Capital Project (NatCap) of Stanford University. 

View the detailed program agenda using the menu tabs below or download a PDF version.

Join the conversation! Tag @stanfordaparc on LinkedIn/ @StanfordSAPARC on X and mention #TPSD2024.

Bechtel Conference Center
Encina Hall Central, First Floor
616 Jane Stanford Way, Stanford CA 94305

9:00–9:30 a.m. — Welcoming of Guests
Registration of Attendees and Check-In of Speakers
Breakfast for Speakers and Attendees

9:30–9:40 a.m. — Welcome Remarks
Gi-Wook Shin
Director of Shorenstein APARC and the Korea Program
William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea
Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Professor of Sociology
Stanford University

9:40–10:35 a.m. — Plenary 1
The Role of World Leaders in Higher Education and Sustainable Innovation
Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.

Moderator
Jean Oi
Director of the China Program at Shorenstein APARC
William Haas Professor of Chinese Politics
Stanford University

Keynote Speakers
Ban Ki-moon
The 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations
Chairman of the Ban Ki-moon Foundation for a Better Future
Zandanshatar Gombojav
Chairman of the 7th and 8th State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia
Eun Mee Kim
The 17th President of Ewha Womans University
Professor in the Graduate School of International Studies
Director of the Ewha Global Health Institute for Girls and Women
Francis Fukuyama
Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies
Director of the Ford Dorsey Master’s in International Policy
Research Affiliate at The Europe Center and Professor, by Courtesy, in the Department of Political Science
Stanford University

10:35–11:00 a.m. — Q&A

11:00–11:15 a.m. — Coffee and Tea Break

11:15–12:05 p.m. — Plenary 2
Promoting Climate Change Diplomacy Across Sectors
Sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea

Target 9.4: By 2030, upgrade infrastructure and retrofit industries to make them sustainable, with increased resource-use efficiency and greater adoption of clean and environmentally sound technologies and industrial processes, with all countries taking action in accordance with their respective capabilities.

Moderator
Matthew Dolbow
Senior Foreign Service Officer of the U.S. Department of State
Former Consul General of the U.S. Consulate General Naha in Japan
Visiting Scholar, Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University

Keynote Speakers
Chan-Woo Kim
Former Ambassador for Climate Change and Government Representative for Arctic Affairs of the Republic of Korea
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Federative Republic of Brazil and the Republic of Kenya
Visiting Professor at Gyeongsang National University
Erdenebold Sukhbaatar
Member of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia
Dave H. Kim
Senior Advisor to the President and Chair
Outreach Specialist
Global Green Growth Institute

12:05–12:30 p.m. — Q&A

12:30–2:00 p.m. — Public Luncheon for Attendees (Front Lawn)

2:00–2:45 p.m. — Plenary 3
Advancing Resilient Infrastructure and Sustainable Industrialization in the Indo-Pacific Region
Organized by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission

Target 9.a: Facilitate sustainable and resilient infrastructure development in developing countries through enhanced financial, technological and technical support to African countries, least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States.

Moderator
Michael Beeman
Visiting Scholar, Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University
Former Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Japan, Korea and APEC at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative

Panelists
Joel Abraham
CEO, Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission
Lorraine H. Akiba
President and CEO, LHA Ventures
Diana Bowman
Associate Dean and Professor, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law
Co-Director, Center for Smart Cities and Regions
Arizona State University

2:45–3:15 p.m. — Q&A

3:15–3:45 p.m. — Coffee and Tea Break

3:45–4:30 p.m. — Plenary 4
Catalyzing Innovative Energy Infrastructure Financing in Asia and the Pacific
Organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Target 9.3: Increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, in particular in developing countries, to financial services, including affordable credit, and their integration into value chains and markets.

Moderator
Priyantha D.C. Wijayatunga
Senior Director, Energy Sector Group, ADB

Panelists
Rie Hiraoka
Visiting Scholar at Shorenstein APARC, Stanford University
Former Director of the Social Sector Division for Central and West Asia Department, ADB
Professor at Kyoto University for Advanced Sciences
Advisor for the Institute of Future Initiatives
Consulting General Manager, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank
Sulakshana Jayawardena
Former Secretary of the Ministry of Power and Energy, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
Kee-Yung Nam
Principal Energy Economist, Energy Sector Group, ADB
R. Duncan McIntosh
Senior Regional Maritime Specialist, Transport Sector Group, ADB

4:30–5:00 p.m. — Q&A

TPSD 2024 Program Agenda
Download pdf


Day 1: Thursday, October 10, 9:00 a.m. - 5 p.m. PT | Bechtel Conference Center, Encina Hall Center (First Floor)
Day 2: Friday, October 11, 8:30 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. PT | Bechtel Conference Center & Philippines Room, Encina Hall Central, C330 (Third Floor)

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A New Approach to Talent Development: Lessons from Japan and Singapore

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As nations grapple with an increasingly competitive global talent landscape, a new study, published in the journal World Development, suggests that countries should rethink their approach to developing, attracting, and retaining talent. To address the need for a more complete understanding of cross-national variation in talent development strategy, the study proposes Talent Portfolio Theory (TPT), a novel approach to studying and improving human resource development.

The researchers, Stanford sociologist Gi-Wook Shin, the William J. Perry Professor of Contemporary Korea and the director of APARC and the Korea Program, and Haley Gordon, a PhD candidate at Stanford’s Department of Sociology, draw on the principles of Modern Portfolio Theory, a well-established framework in financial investment literature, to propose a new framework for talent development.

The new framework, TPT, views a nation’s talent strategy much like an investment portfolio, emphasizing the importance of diversification, risk management, and rebalancing. Shin and Grodon examine Japan and Singapore as case studies to illustrate how the TPT approach can help scholars, policymakers, and businesses better understand and optimize talent development strategies.

The study is part of the Talent Flows and Development research track of the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab (SNAPL). Housed at APARC and directed by Shin, SNAPL is a new initiative committed to addressing emergent social, cultural, economic, and political challenges in Asia-Pacific nations through interdisciplinary, policy-relevant, and comparative research.

Talent Portfolio Theory enables a holistic understanding of a nation’s talent development. TPT also allows us to see the evolution of talent development strategy in terms of rebalancing a talent portfolio over time.
Gi-Wook Shin and Haley Gordon

A Fresh Perspective on Talent Development

Talent development has long been a priority for nations aiming to boost economic growth and compete globally. Traditionally, countries have focused on building human capital — developing skills and education among citizens — and social capital — strengthening networks and relationships that facilitate cooperation and innovation. Existing strategies, however, often overlook the interconnected nature of various talent flows, including the movement of domestic talent, international talent, and diaspora engagement.

Just like financial theory evaluates a given investment (and its risk and return qualities) by how it impacts a portfolio’s overall performance rather than in isolation, TPT treats talent as a portfolio composed of four key elements, known as the “four Bs”: brain train (domestic talent development), brain gain (attracting foreign talent), brain circulation (movement of talent between home and abroad), and brain linkage (engagement with diaspora communities).

“In the study of national talent development, it is imperative to consider both the human and social capital facets of talent, as a country has multiple layers of talent available for use – domestic, diasporic, and foreign – each with different human and social capital potentials,” write Shin and Gordon. They propose TPT as “a better framework for illustrating and comparing different experiences and impacts of talent development at the national level, which is also key in offering policy prescriptions for human resource strategies.”

Talent Portfolio Theory allows for a comparison between Singapore and Japan, [...] explaining how timely rebalancing to maintain diversification enabled the former to sustain success while the latter stagnated, succumbing to risk.
Gi-Wook Shin and Haley Gordon

Insights from Japan and Singapore

Using Japan and Singapore as case studies, the authors demonstrate how countries can apply TPT to manage their talent portfolios. Japan's economic growth relied on two tiers of human capital: top-level scientists and engineers who adapted and integrated foreign technologies for domestic use, and skilled workers who grasped the fundamentals of these adapted technologies and carried out the manufacturing processes. With limited prospects for brain gain, circulation, or linkage, Japan developed these two layers of its workforce by relying on brain train, cultivating domestic talent for its industrial development.

In the early 1990s, however, Japan’s economy ran into trouble. Its system of brain train was well-suited for driving incremental innovation, but it became restrictive in the rapidly evolving landscape of the early 21st century, which demanded more disruptive innovation. “The Japanese model of human resource development necessitated a robust supply of domestic manpower which now became increasingly difficult to sustain, and a shrinking working-age population also meant labor shortage and reduced productivity,” say Shin and Gordon. “In the language of TPT, Japan urgently needed to diversify its talent portfolio beyond its reliance on brain train to address new risks.”

Recognizing the risks of a skewed talent portfolio, Japan began to rebalance its talent portfolio in the 2010s but has struggled with demographic decline and a slow pivot toward international talent. Despite efforts to internationalize higher education and attract foreign talent, Japan’s diversification of its talent portfolio has been stagnant and was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In contrast, Singapore’s approach showcases the benefits of a well-balanced talent portfolio. The city-state’s aggressive pursuit of foreign talent (brain gain) and robust engagement with its diaspora (brain linkage) have made it a leader in global talent strategy. Singapore’s government has continually adjusted its policies, actively rebalancing its talent portfolio to maintain a competitive edge.

Singapore started rebalancing its talent portfolio in the 1990s, not only enhancing its efforts toward brain train but also expanding brain gain by internationalizing higher education and actively promoting a “work-migration” path. In tandem with its brain gain initiatives, Singapore also turned to its diaspora, fostering brain circulation and establishing stronger brain linkages. Through concerted efforts by the government and industry, Singapore has successfully produced and attracted creative talent that allowed it to remain globally competitive.

“Talent Portfolio Theory enables a holistic understanding of the various components of Singapore’s talent strategy and its evolution over time, from the country’s focus on brain train during its catch-up phase to its rebalancing with a successful brain gain, in addition to more recent forays into brain circulation and brain linkage,” Shin and Gordon explain.

Countries must enact sociocultural policies that ensure global competitiveness in the new talent market by emphasizing openness, tolerance, and diversity in order to gain the best and brightest brains.
Gi-Wook Shin and Haley Gordon

Toward Fostering Cultural Diversity

TPT offers a powerful framework for crafting more resilient and adaptive talent strategies. As the global competition for skilled workers intensifies, understanding the dynamics of talent portfolios can help countries mitigate risks, capitalize on opportunities, and avoid the pitfalls of overly narrow approaches to human resource development. For instance, countries experiencing demographic decline, like Japan, can look to Singapore’s model of timely rebalancing as a guide for policy adjustment. Businesses also stand to benefit from TPT. The framework encourages companies to look beyond the availability of local talent and consider the broader talent ecosystem, including international talent flows and diaspora engagement.

Shin and Gordon emphasize that structural and sociocultural factors often limit policy options for building and rebalancing talent portfolios. Japan and Singapore illustrate that developed countries with abundant domestic opportunities are better positioned to retain talent and attract brain gain, whereas developing countries often experience talent outflows, favoring brain circulation or linkage (as seen in China and India). Additionally, while ethnically homogenous countries like Japan may prefer to rely on domestic and diasporic talent, multiethnic countries like Singapore can better attract foreign talent and engage in brain gain.

The contrasting experiences of Japan and Singapore underscore the critical importance of fostering cultural diversity to attract foreign talent. Singapore’s success with brain gain, compared to Japan’s more mixed outcomes, largely stems from its multicultural environment, shaped by policies that protect minority rights and actively promote respect for diverse ethnic groups. To remain competitive in the global talent market, countries must prioritize sociocultural policies that cultivate openness, tolerance, and diversity. By embracing these values, nations can attract the best and brightest minds, ensuring their place in a rapidly evolving global economy.

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Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab Receives Grants to Advance Policy Engagement and Research Collaboration

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New Study Reveals Geopolitical Rivalries Shape Attitudes Toward Immigrants

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The Center offers multiple fellowships for Asia researchers to begin in Autumn quarter 2025. These include postdoctoral fellowships on Asia-focused health policy, contemporary Japan, and the Asia-Pacific region, postdoctoral fellowships and visiting scholar positions with the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab, a visiting scholar position on contemporary Taiwan, and fellowships for experts on Southeast Asia.
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Stanford researchers Gi-Wook Shin and Haley Gordon propose a novel framework for cross-national understanding of human resource development and a roadmap for countries to improve their talent development strategies.

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Toward a Portfolio Theory of Talent Development

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Highlights 

  • Talent Portfolio Theory is a new framework for studying human resource development.
  • Talent portfolios use brain train, brain gain, brain circulation, and brain linkage.
  • National talent strategies involve portfolio diversification and rebalancing.
  • Talent Portfolio Theory allows cross-national comparison of talent strategy over time.
  •  While Japan stagnated, Singapore sustained growth by rebalancing its talent portfolio.


In this article, the researchers propose Talent Portfolio Theory (TPT) as a new framework for studying human resource development. Drawing insights from Modern Portfolio Theory in financial investment, TPT views a nation’s talent development as creating a “talent portfolio” composed of four “B”s: brain train, brain gain, brain circulation, and brain linkage. TPT attends to how a talent portfolio, like a financial one, is diversified to minimize risk, and how diversification can be maintained via rebalancing. As such, TPT provides a framework that captures the overall picture of a country’s talent strategy and offers a lens through which to understand how a country changes or “rebalances” its talent portfolio over time. It also provides a tool for examining cross-national variation in talent development strategy.

The authors illustrate the utility of TPT with the cases of Japan and Singapore. While human resource development was crucial to the economic rise of both countries, TPT demonstrates that Japan’s and Singapore’s approaches to constructing and rebalancing their talent portfolios took different routes with diverging outcomes. They conclude with discussions of theoretical and policy implications of this new approach for the study and implementation of talent development.

This study is part of the Talent Flows and Development research track of the Stanford Next Asia Policy Lab.

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Public Opinion, Rivalry, and the Democratic Peace

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Public Opinion, Rivalry, and the Democratic Peace
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Insights from Financial Theory, Illustrations from the Asia-Pacific

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World Development
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Gi-Wook Shin
Haley Gordon
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Abby McConnell

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Abby McConnell joined FSI in 2024, after serving as the assistant director of student services in Stanford’s Oceans Department. Prior to Stanford, she worked in academic settings for over 15 years with a focus on teaching writing to a range of students, from high school seniors to mid-career military officers, and crafting marketing and internal communications materials.  She is also a published fiction writer and essayist, with a BA in Communications from UC Berkeley and an MFA in English-Creative Writing from UC Irvine.

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Throwin’ in the Towel: Global Patterns of Presidential Election Concessions

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CDDRL seminar with Anne Meng — Throwin’ in the Towel: Global Patterns of Presidential Election Concessions

A fundamental aspect of democracy is that losers accept defeat. However, despite the importance of this concept, we do not have a clear sense of the empirical prevalence of concessions, nor do we have systematic evidence assessing its effects on election outcomes. This article presents the first global dataset on concessions in presidential elections in all countries worldwide from 1980 to 2020. For each election, we code whether the top-placing losing candidate made a concession statement that clearly acknowledges defeat, as well as the number of days they took to concede. We find that candidates in democratic countries are more likely to concede compared to candidates in autocratic countries. Surprisingly, losing incumbents are more likely to concede compared with non-incumbents who lose. The data also shows that precedence matters: if the loser in the previous election conceded, the current loser is more likely to concede. Finally, concessions are positively and significantly associated with fewer post-election protests (including those alleging electoral fraud), although it is difficult to convincingly establish a causal relationship.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Anne Meng is an Associate Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of Virginia. Her research centers on authoritarian politics, institutions, and elite power sharing. Her book, Constraining Dictatorship: From Personalized Rule to Institutionalized Regimes (Cambridge University Press, 2020), won the Riker Book Prize and was listed as a 2021 Best Book by Foreign Affairs. She has also published articles on authoritarian ruling parties, rebel regimes, opposition cooptation, term limit evasion, leadership succession, and democratic backsliding. Her work has been published in the American Political Science Review, Annual Review of Political Science, PS: Political Science & Politics, British Journal of Political Science, and others. 

Virtual to Public. Only those with an active Stanford ID with access to Encina E008 in Encina Hall may attend in person.

Hesham Sallam
Hesham Sallam

Virtual to Public. Only those with an active Stanford ID with access to E008 in Encina Hall may attend in person.

Anne Meng
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