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To Change the World, Change Your Economics: How Degrowth Can Shrink Overconsumption in the Global North While Allowing the Global South to Grow
The global economy largely operates under a neoclassical economic structure, which emphasizes a reliance on markets, a deference to the private sector and a focus on constant growth. But according to Matt Orsagh and Steve Rocco at the Arketa Institute, this structure has a fatal flaw: It operates on a planet with finite resources and limited places to put our waste, but assumes that economic growth can go on forever. They argue that the world needs a new form of economics that reflects our environmental realities, one focused on "degrowth" — i.e., an effort to equitably downscale production and consumption in the Global North, without putting undue restrictions on the development of the Global South. They explore what this change might mean for the world's economy, the investing community — and countries in the Global North and South.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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Press Release: Partnership Aims to Advance Clean Energy Innovation in Asia Pacific
Through this initiative, the University of Michigan and WDI will work collaboratively with ADB on a wide range of projects across the Asian region, including in clean energy and e-mobility, climate and health, water, food security, and biodiversity.
- Categories
- Energy, Technology, Transportation
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Analysis: Why Impact Investing Might Collapse and How to Stop It
The current paradigm of viewing impact in isolation from the systems surrounding investments is not sustainable. Applying a systems lens helps investors make better decisions related to sourcing, management, and measurement that lead to lasting positive impact.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Right Decision, Wrong Reasons: The Way Forward from the Attack on Global Aid
The global aid system is fracturing, with profound implications for the roughly 4 billion people who live on less than $7 a day — and especially for the 120+ million who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. But as Simon Marot Touloung, Elana Banin and Jakob Øster argue, while recent attacks on the system may be overly simplistic, they point to a real issue: Humanitarian aid had failed to evolve, and it is structurally incapable of catalyzing the long-term economic transformation displaced communities need. They explore some market-based alternatives to traditional aid, and propose five principles to guide the transition from the failing aid model toward new approaches that can actually deliver resilience and dignity.
- Categories
- Investing
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Africa is Done Waiting: 10 Key Takeaways from Africa HealthTech Summit 2025
NextBillion was a media partner at last week's Africa HealthTech Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, which focused on the theme: “Connected Care: Scaling Innovation Towards Universal Health Coverage.” NextBillion managing editor James Militzer shares 10 takeaways from the event — and four video interviews with key thought leaders — covering topics that range from the role of the private sector in driving healthtech innovation, to the problem of "pilotitis" and the need for a new narrative around African development.
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- Health Care
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ADB, World Bank Sign $3 Billion Agreement to Boost Lending Capacity in Asia and the Pacific
The agreement is ADB’s first EEA with the World Bank and its sixth EEA with other multilateral development banks (MDBs) since 2020, bringing the cumulative exchanged amount to $9 billion.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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World Bank Chief ‘Not Certain’ Developing Nations Can Leapfrog With AI
World Bank Group President Ajay Banga is skeptical about AI's leapfrogging opportunity, but experts believe that while challenges exist in Africa, so do opportunities for advancement.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Consultants at a Crossroads in Global Development: New Research Reveals their Challenges — And Highlights Strategies for Navigating the Current Disruption
The dismantling of USAID earlier this year has had many ripple effects, including over 238,000 global jobs lost at the agency and its implementing partners. But according to development consultants Alethia Wong and Lorenz Wild, the plight of independent consultants working in global development — who are often not represented in workforce statistics — hasn't received much attention. To better understand these impacts on the consulting ecosystem, they launched a survey of independent consultants earlier this year: They share the results in this article, exploring how development consultants are pivoting to earn income and how contracting companies can support them — and sharing advice from job recruiters for consultants looking for full-time roles.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
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