News and views from the Blavatnik School of Government community 
Dr Yajun Bao was a visiting fellow at the Blavatnik School from Feb 2017 to Feb 2018. Here, in conversation with his mentor at the Blavatnik School, Dr Ruth Dixon, he discusses his new paper ‘The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps: An Insider’s Perspective.’ RD: Yajun, in your paper you […]
Project non-completion, commonly attributed to corruption or clientelism, is in fact often caused by an inability to prioritise public expenditure Unfinished infrastructure projects are a common sight in many developing countries. Infrastructure is a high priority for governments, citizens, and donors alike, on account of its crucial role in achieving […]
In the recent “Dance of the Lions and Dragons” report issued by McKinsey, the story of the infrastructure gap is raised: whilst Africa’s spending on infrastructure has fuelled an infrastructure building boom supported largely by government debt, it still falls short of the $150 billion dollars per annum required. To […]
How does a country go from the being the richest of its region to absolute collapse? Why have people been protesting daily for over two months? Moreover, why do people continue to demonstrate when over 60 people have been killed by State security forces? How bad can the situation get? […]
How to improve integrity due diligence in mining license management On the first anniversary of the Panama Papers, the National Minerals Agency (NMA) of Sierra Leone wants to know who they are doing business with. The NMA is the government agency responsible for issuing mining licenses. Beny Steinmetz of Simandou […]
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes”, said Benjamin Franklin. Taxes have always been frowned upon and tax collectors have been vilified and despised, except probably by Christ (and since he came for the scum of the earth, this is the exception that […]
During my time in the MPP, a senior civil servant delivered a lecture about his experience organising the London 2012 Olympic Games. I had not fully understood the scale of the Olympic Games before that lecture, nor had I thought about the vast amount of planning and infrastructure that goes into […]
The UK is rethinking its position in global trade. In the wake of the UK’s EU referendum and the vote to “leave,” the government has created a new Department for International Trade and is busy re-deploying several hundred civil servants to staff it. Yes, after more than 40 years, trade […]
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