Blog - Center for International Private Enterprise

Frontiers in Development

For years, growing private capital flows to developing countries, technological change, demographic pressures, and the spread of democracy have been reshaping the development landscape, as Steven Radelet recently noted. On June 11-13, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID...

The Business of Democracies that Deliver

On June 8, CIPE celebrated a watershed foreign policy moment – the 30th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's speech to the British Parliament at Westminster. In his speech, delivered during a reawakening of tensions during the Cold War, Reagan laid out the case that the United States shou...

Jobs for Libya’s Ex-combatants…and Everyone Else

In December 2011, Libya's National Transition Council announced it would spend $8 billion on a disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) program to help militia members disarm and transition to civilian life. I've been following this all with great interest, largely since, before I cam...

Crossing the “Valley of Death:” Green Growth in Developing Countries

Green growth brings various images to mind, from wind turbines to smart cars to solar panels. While these manifestations of green growth connote innovation, advanced technology, and expensive start-up costs, developing countries with limited means can also participate in and reap the benefits of g...

Friday Wrap-Up: Democracy, CSR, Property Rights, and Dry Cleaning

Recently on the blog: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and the National Endowment for Democracy celebrated the 30 year anniversary of President Reagan's Westminster speech, which laid the foundation for U.S. democracy assistance. The Washington Post also wrote about the speech and its en...

Democracy and Prosperity: The Inevitable Link?

The question about the link between democracy and economic prosperity is key for scholars and policymakers alike, especially when it comes to transition economies. The Arab Spring brought the challenge of building democracies that deliver into a new, sharp focus and emphasized the need for sharing...

Moving beyond CSR: Oil Companies and Economic Development

How can multinational companies have a positive impact on developing countries? While the private sector's traditional view has been similar to Milton Friedman's argument that businesses do enough by providing goods and services to society, some companies are recognizing that they can increase the...

30 Years of Building the Infrastructure of Democracy

Almost thirty years ago, on June 8, 1982, President Ronald Reagan gave a famous speech to members of the British Parliament at the Palace of Westminster where he laid out a vision for how "to foster the infrastructure of democracy—the system of a free press, unions, political parties, universiti...

Lessons in Economically Sustainable Development: Learning by Examples

CIPE’s Youth Essay contest was established to provide a platform for those nascent advocates, encouraging them to let their ideas and their creativity flourish. The winners in each of this year’s three entry categories – Democratic Transitions, Corruption, and Economically-Sustainable...

Keeping Score

I am 38,000 feet over Hartford, CT on my way home from St. Petersburg, Russia and the International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI) World Congress. This time of year everyone is asking, "Did you catch the game last night?" Depending on your city and allegiances this can be a tricky question. Are w...