FSI researchers consider international development from a variety of angles. They analyze ideas such as how public action and good governance are cornerstones of economic prosperity in Mexico and how investments in high school education will improve China’s economy.
They are looking at novel technological interventions to improve rural livelihoods, like the development implications of solar power-generated crop growing in Northern Benin.
FSI academics also assess which political processes yield better access to public services, particularly in developing countries. With a focus on health care, researchers have studied the political incentives to embrace UNICEF’s child survival efforts and how a well-run anti-alcohol policy in Russia affected mortality rates.
FSI’s work on international development also includes training the next generation of leaders through pre- and post-doctoral fellowships as well as the Draper Hills Summer Fellows Program.
This project seeks to promote the collaboration between the Center for Latin American Studies and the Program on Human Rights in conducting an interdisciplinary faculty/graduate student research that seeks to better understand the human rights situation of indigenous peoples in Latin America.
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In his closing keynote address at the Methodology in Southeast Asian Studies conference held May 29 to 31 at the University of Freiburg, Donald K. Emmerson spoke of the need to embrace a diversity of research methods in the field of Southeast Asian studies. He described the contrast—including the epistemological tension—between quantitative and qualitative research methods and ways of knowing.
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The Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL) congratulates Landry Signé for his recent awards in recognition of his pioneering work to advance democratic causes and community leadership in North America. Signé is a 2011-2013 Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at CDDRL where he researches the conditions that create, maintain and sustain democracies and economic development. His Banting fellowship is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Prior to joining CDDRL, Signé was a visiting scholar at the Stanford Center on African Studies.
On May 19, Signé received the Outstanding Visionary Leadership Award during the 2012 African Network Conference in San Jose, California. Signé was recognized by The African Network for his pioneering role in promoting entrepreneurial opportunities, accountable governance, and economic development for Africa in the Silicon Valley and North America. Signé has been helping to redefine Africa as a continent of economic opportunity through an innovative course he teaches at Stanford Continuing Studies bringing Silicon Valley executives and Stanford students together to spur business and investment strategies.
A week earlier, Signé was awarded the Jury’s Favorite Award for Vision and Inspiration by the African Business Network during their Excellence Vision and Inspiration Gala in Montreal, Canada. Signé was bestowed with this award for his work with the Political Commission of Montreal, the United Nations Association of Canada-Montreal, and the United Nations Missions Committee in New York to champion projects to advance political, economic and social development. One of the projects he supported reinforced the importance of art for economic development, and resulted in a $26 million grant allocated to the Montreal Museum of Fine Art by the Government of Quebec and the Government of Canada.
Signé dedicated the award to, “All the people and institutions who - undercover or in the spotlight - contribute through their visionary actions to improve citizen involvement, to create more individual and collective opportunities, and to generate a better and happier life for the current and next generations.”
Signé completed his PhD in political science in 2010 with the Award of Excellence from the University of Montreal, and has been bequeathed the Award for Best International PhD Dissertation of 2011 by the Center for International Studies and Research. Signé is a member of the Stanford University Provost's Advisory Committee on Postdoctoral Affairs and is the co-chair of the Stanford University Postdoctoral Association whose mission is to represent and advocate for the interests of the postdoctoral scholar community, and to enrich their experience at Stanford University.
A frequent commentator on issues of African governance and economic development, Signé has appeared in The New York Times, Reuters, and Afrik-News.
As recently as 2007, the United States seemed headed towards ever greater fossil fuel import dependence, as domestic oil and natural gas production dwindled and consumption continued to grow. Five years later, the landscape looks dramatically different. An explosion in natural gas production from shales has overturned paradigms and sparked bold talk of LNG exports. While less remarked-upon, unconventional oil production has followed suit, helping to boost liquids output 20% from 50-year lows and vaulting North Dakota ahead of Alaska to become the nation’s second-largest oil producer. A new order is emerging in the coal market as well, with efforts underway to ship cheap, low-sulfur coal from the western U.S. to China.
The new role for the U.S. as a hotbed of production and technology development for unconventional resources, a reduced import market, and a possible key exporter of natural gas and coal raises a host of political, economic, and environmental questions. The goal of this conference is to contribute to insightful and data-driven dialogue on these pressing (and often politically-charged) issues by bringing together academics, policymakers, industry experts, and other stakeholder groups.
Session topics will include: (1) the environmental and economic impacts of proposed exports of Powder River Basin coal to China; (2) which will happen first: major LNG exports from the U.S. or shale gas development at scale outside of the U.S. (and especially in China); (3) the changing role of the U.S. in the global oil market, and its geopolitical and economic implications; (4) the cases for and against pipelines connecting Canada’s oil sands with U.S. refineries; and (5) the trajectory of future natural gas demand from the U.S. transportation and power sectors.
Each session will feature a presentation by an academic or industry expert summarizing the state of knowledge on the topic and pointing out major unresolved issues. Discussants from the policymaking and stakeholder communities will then provide their perspectives on the presentation. This will be followed by an opportunity for audience comment and discussion.
Bechtel Conference Center
Stanford seniors Stephen Craig and Clay Ramel have been awarded The Firestone Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and The William J. Perry Prize, respectively, for their theses on German's foreign policy and the global politics of oil.
Both recipients are students of the CISAC's Undergraduate Honors Program in International Security Studies and will graduate next week.
Craig, a political science major, wrote "Tamed Tiger or Restless Beast? German Foreign Policy in the Post-Unification Period."
Ramel, a science, technology, and society major, wrote “Reconsidering the Roots of Crude Coercion: a Policymaking Analysis of `the Oil Weapon.'”
The Firestone Medal recognizes the top 10 percent of all honors theses in social science, science, and engineering. The Perry Prize is awarded to a student for excellence in policy-relevant research in international security studies.
This research area explores the national and international land and water laws that govern land tenure and property rights in sub-Saharan African countries, with the aim of understanding how large-scale land investments influence the tenure security, and therefore food security, of local farmers. The World Bank and others have identified a large agro-ecological region of African known as the Guinea Savannah as well-positioned for major agricultural development.
This report discusses desirable policy directions and options in the aftermath of the Great Tohoku Earthquake. It argues that the importance of Japan’s productivity growth has not been invalidated by the disaster, and suggests that Japan should consider restoration and reconstruction from the earthquake as a great opportunity to reposition its policies.
It identifies concrete steps Japan can take to jump start growth in three broad themes: regulatory reforms (reducing the costs of doing business, stopping protection for zombie firms, deregulation especially in non-manufacturing sectors and growth enhancing special zones); opening-up of the Japanese economy (trade liberalization, reduction of agricultural subsidies and new immigration policy); and macroeconomic policy reforms (fiscal consolidation and monetary expansion to end deflation).
