Blog - Center for International Private Enterprise

Democratic and Market Values Face Obstacles in Poland

After the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, Poland became a poster child for democratic and market-oriented transition. While the necessary reforms were difficult and often painful to the average citizen, they did deliver political freedoms and rapid economic growth, reversing decades of...

The Local Private Sector is Vital to Peacebuilding and Reconstruction

CIPE works with partners in a number of conflict-affected contexts around the world. While political, security and humanitarian issues typically draw the most attention, CIPE has found there are major benefits to working with the local private sector on economic issues at almost every stage of a co...

Women’s Business Resource Center Helps Women Entrepreneurs in Papua New Guinea Succeed Against the Odds

Women in Papua New Guinea face distressing obstacles to achieving leadership roles in business, politics, their communities, and their families. Two-thirds of women there are victims of domestic violence, according to reports. Women and girls are frequently treated like property, and it is not unco...

Open Internet Principles for Democracy: Stand Up for Free Online Speech in the Face of Oppressive Governments

Over the last two decades, the internet has profoundly changed how societies operate. People around the world now access and share information at an unprecedented rate. The business community, in particular, has used the internet to increase innovation and productivity, spurring global economic gro...

A Call for Democratic Re-engagement

Every year on September 15, the United Nations’ International Day of Democracy offers an opportunity to reflect on the state of democracy and the challenges facing it. This year’s theme spotlights the need to strengthen democratic institutions against a backdrop of increasing disparitie...

Promoting Government Transparency and Empowering Citizens through Open Data

As our lives become increasingly digitized, governments must respond to calls to make information available for public consumption on the Internet. Proponents of open data advocate for the release of information collected by governments in formats accessible to all citizens. But what is open data, ...

Private Sector Plays Crucial Role in Improving Public Services in Arab Nations

When governments have exclusive control over the provision of goods and services, citizens are trapped without an alternative. Because the state monopolizes the entire market, there is no competition to ensure fair prices, sufficient quality, and satisfactory customer service. Taxpayer money is pou...

Uniting to Achieve a Common Goal: Advocating for Economic Reform in Algeria

Algeria is a country in dire need of economic reform. As global oil prices have dropped and the dinar has depreciated, Algeria’s export revenues have been cut in half, and the state deficit has risen rapidly. Unemployment continues to go unchecked, and job creation is not high enough to keep ...

Mobile App Gives Investors Instant Access to Corporate Governance Information

The recently launched Elapedia app gives investors around the world instant access to corporate governance practices at 100 publically listed companies in the four Pacific Alliance countries (Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru). The free Spanish-language app, which relies on publically available data...

Democratic Backsliding in Bulgaria

The Institute for Market Economics (IME), an independent economic policy think tank in Bulgaria, has sought to define the main challenges to democracy, investigating their roots and identifying possible solutions. In addition to its research, IME recently conducted two surveys. The general sentimen...