Policy Forum Pod

In 1991, more than 90 per cent of Asia’s population lived in low-income countries. By 2015, the wealth of the region had taken a dramatic turn, so much so that more than 95 per cent now live in middle-income countries. What has this change meant for the region, and what will it take to shift gear again and reach high-income status? On this week’s Policy Forum Pod, economists Donghyun Park and Roland Rajah from the Asian Development Bank take us under the hood of Asia and the Pacific’s economic engine, and discuss the latest from the 2017 Asian Development Outlook report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Worldwide, around 225 million women who want to avoid pregnancy do not have access to safe family planning methods. What does this mean for health and development, and what can policymakers do about it? This question was one of the several topics discussed when Policy Forum’s Martyn Pearce and Crawford School’s Sharon Bessell sat down for a chat with Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Dr Babatunde Osotimehin. On this week’s Policy Forum Pod, we discuss the role of the UNFPA in promoting women’s empowerment, and why there’s still a long way to go when it comes to gender equality. To listen to Dr Osotimehin's speech to Crawford School of Public Policy, as mentioned in the podcast, click here: https://soundcloud.com/anucrawford/tackling-global-health-by-dr-babatunde-osotimehin Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The United Nations predicts that two-thirds of the world will live in cities by 2050. Policymakers have begun to grapple with the economic and environmental consequences of this wave of urbanisation, but what are the implications for human health and mental wellbeing? On this week's Policy Forum Pod, Professor Nikolas Rose discusses the global move from the countryside to the metropolis, and how the problem of stress might require more creative policy for life in the city. To see the Urban Mind app discussed in the podcast, click here: https://www.urbanmind.info/ For more on Nikolas Rose's work, check out his website here: http://nikolasrose.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has revealed plans for a multibillion dollar extension to the Snowy Hydro-electric scheme, in what he has called a “game-changing” development for Australia’s energy market. But does the proposal hold water? In this week’s Policy Forum Pod Extra, Frank Jotzo, Matthew Stocks, and Ken Baldwin take us through what Snowy Hydro 2.0 might mean for Australian energy policy. For more on energy policy and hydro-power in the Asia-Pacific, see the following Policy Forum articles: How renewables could power Asia https://www.policyforum.net/how-renewables-could-power-asia/ How social can Chinese hydropower dams be? https://www.policyforum.net/how-social-can-chinese-hydropower-dams-be/ Modi powers forward https://www.policyforum.net/modi-powers-forward/ One Dam(ned) mistake after another https://www.policyforum.net/one-damned-mistake-after-another/ You can also see the public stoush between Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg and South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-16/sa-premier-jay-weatherill-serves-federal-energy/8360422 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

China is a country of big numbers. Not only does it boast the world’s largest population, but it also has the world’s biggest political party overseeing what is probably the world’s largest bureaucracy. How does this system not only function, but manage on occasion to roll out deep policy reforms at speed? On this Policy Forum Pod, Ryan Manuel takes a look the accomplishments, confusions and contradictions of the Chinese political system, and whether or not other countries could learn a thing or two from China when it comes to policy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The relationship between science and policy can be difficult at the best of times. Professor Sir John Beddington knows this better than most. In his time as the United Kingdom's Chief Scientific Advisor, he dealt with a number of emergencies, including the swine flu epidemic, the volcanic ash incident that closed Eastern Atlantic air space, and the Fukushima nuclear incident. In this week’s Policy Forum Pod, Professor Beddington discusses the state of science in public policy around the world and what scientists can do to get policymakers listening to the evidence. Professor Sir John Beddington was a guest at the recent Policy Forum, Crawford School of Public Policy, and The Economics and Science Group event ‘Bridging science, economics and policy silos‘. For more from the speakers of that event, see the following podcast and Policy Forum articles: Podcast with Karen Hussey, Kathleen Segerson, and Suzi Kerr: https://www.policyforum.net/bridging-gap-2/ Kathleen Segerson: https://www.policyforum.net/honesty-best-policy/ Suzi Kerr: https://www.policyforum.net/researchers-mars-policymakers-venus/ John Williams: https://www.policyforum.net/turning-tide-water-reform/ Rod Keenan: https://www.policyforum.net/escaping-ivory-tower/ Quentin Grafton: https://www.policyforum.net/back-2-the-future/ John Hewson: http://www.policyforum.net/real-leadership-can-tackle-climate-challenge/ Bob Cotton: https://www.policyforum.net/people-key-better-public-policy/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In an ideal world, public policy would be grounded in evidence and research, drawing upon the best available knowledge from the disciplines of science, humanities and economics. In the real world, however, policy decisions are all too often divorced from evidence-based research. In this week’s Policy Forum Pod, Karen Hussey, Kathleen Segerson and Suzi Kerr discuss the gap that exists between policymakers and academics, and what researchers can do to have a stronger voice and bigger say in policy formulation. All three experts recently took part in a discussion at a Policy Forum event at Crawford School of Public Policy, titled 'Bridging science, economics and policy silos'. They have also all written articles for Policy Forum - links can be found below. Suzi Kerr: https://www.policyforum.net/researchers-mars-policymakers-venus/ Kathleen Segerson: https://www.policyforum.net/honesty-best-policy/ Karen Hussey: https://www.policyforum.net/authors/karen-hussey/ To read more about the 'dialogues' Suzi Kerr discusses go to http://motu.nz/resources/dialogue-groups/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America’s Secret War in Laos was a proxy conflict fought during the height of the war in Vietnam in the 1960s, and was orchestrated by the US Central Intelligence Agency. While the enormous devastation inflicted upon Laos during the war is now well-known, the details of the CIA’s role has, until now, been a tale left largely untold. In this Policy Forum Pod, Josh Kurlantzick discusses his new book ‘A Great Place to Have a War: America in Laos and the Birth of a Military CIA’, which draws upon extensive interviews and newly declassified CIA records to tell the tale of the Secret War. Josh is a Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, and was previously a scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He has served as columnist and correspondent for numerous news organisations, including the Economist, the New Republic, and the American Prospect. He is also the winner of the Luce Scholarship for journalism in Asia. This Policy Forum Pod is produced in partnership with New Mandala - www.newmandala.org - the leading site for analysis on Southeast Asia politics and society. Photo by USAF on Wikipedia Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Universities have long been valued for their role in creating knowledge – knowledge which can hopefully be used for the betterment of society and humankind. But in the age of social media and in what has been called a world of ‘post-truth’ politics, are the best ideas of our scholars and academic institutions cutting through? In the new Policy Forum Pod, experts Asit Biswas and James Giggacher discuss whether universities are now more concerned with chasing global rankings than making a meaningful contribution to society. Professor Asit Biswas is one of the world’s leading authorities on water and environmental management, and currently the Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School for Public Policy in Singapore. James Giggacher is Editor of New Mandala and an associate lecturer in the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs. They are in conversation with Policy Forum Editor, Martyn Pearce Further reading: Kris Hartley's piece on the crucial role of academics in speaking truth to troubling political power: http://www.policyforum.net/professor-speak-make-difference/ Video of Asit Biswas talk at ANU Crawford School on the death of academic citizenship: http://www.policyforum.net/resource/death-academic-citizenship-universities-failing-us-asit-biswas-2/ ANU Coral Bell School of Asia-Pacific Affairs Horizons Seminar Series: http://bellschool.anu.edu.au/event-type/horizons-seminar-series Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been used by just about every country in the world as the most important measure of wealth and progress. In the new Policy Forum Pod, experts Ehsan Masood, Ida Kubiszewski, and Bob Costanza discuss why the world is so obsessed with GDP, whether we should keep using it, and if not – what we might replace it with. Ehsan Masood is a well-known science journalist and editor of the research funding news service, Research Professional. He’s also the author of the new book The Great Invention: the story of GDP and the making and unmaking of the modern world. Dr Ida Kubiszewski is a senior lecturer at The Australian National University’s Crawford School and the managing editor of the magazine, journal and website Solutions and a co-founder and former managing editor of the Encyclopedia of Earth, an electronic reference about the Earth, its natural environments, and their interaction with society. Professor Bob Costanza is a professor and chair in public policy at ANU. Bob is also the founding editor of the previously-mentioned Solutions. Prior to his time at ANU, he was Distinguished University Professor of Sustainability in the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State University. Image by Unsplash on Pixabay. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.