Business and central banks will weigh in on the side a circular economy. The latter, together with re-thinking growth and retreating from nature are some of the ways to build a more resilient future. COVID-19 will probably be a feature of that future but so will a growing resilience to it. For improved resilience against other illnesses, particularly cancer, exercise has an important role.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The circular economy is a solution framework that offers better growth while addressing the most pressing global challenges.”
– Ellen MacArthur, Founder, Ellen MacArthur Foundation
For reasons on which we regularly expand in the Monthly Barometer, the circular economy is set to become a prevailing business model. Companies will have to alter by abandoning their current wasteful and polluting systems and innovating in favour of “regenerative” strategies. Change will be articulated around the following: (1) design for circularity; (2) new business models; (3) resource management systems that enable value to be preserved (reads in 6-7 min).
Click here to read the full article.
Barry Eichengreen, New-Model Central Banks
(Project Syndicate, 9 February 2021)
This is, in a way, connected to the article above. Central banks are increasingly expected to address issues such as climate change and inequality, overriding the objections of those who insist that their narrow mandate is what sustains their operational independence. But as the author of The Populist Temptation: Economic Grievance and Political Reaction in the Modern Era argues, ignoring these issues, or saying they’re someone else’s problem, is no longer an option. He concludes by stating: The best way forward is for central bankers to use monetary policy to target inflation, while directing their regulatory powers at other pressing concerns” (reads in 6-7 min).
Click here to read the full article.
Chandran Nair, From growth to the gig economy: 10 areas to create a better, more resilient future
(Singapore Institute for Directors and World Economic Forum, 18 February 2021)
The CEO of the Global Institute for Tomorrow identifies 10 broad areas to consider for the world we might want post-COVID-19. (1) Transforming the corporate world; (2) Rethinking monetary policy for public good; (3) Reimagining growth; (4) Abandoning the ‘free hand of the market’; (5) Revoking the free ride of the gig economy; (6) Valuing work that is essential; (7) Reframing development priorities; (8) Rebuilding the collapsed food system; (9) Start a managed retreat from nature; (10) Geopolitics behind Western supremacy (reads in 7-8 min).
Click here to read the full article.
Nicky Phillips, The coronavirus is here to stay — here’s what that means
(Nature, 16 February 2021)
Nature asked more than 100 immunologists, infectious-disease researchers and virologists working on the coronavirus whether it could be eradicated. Almost 90% of respondents think that the coronavirus will become endemic; i.e. it will continue to circulate in pockets of the global population for years to come. However, it could pose less danger over time: once people develop some immunity to it — either through natural infection or vaccination — they won’t come down with severe symptoms (reads in 7-8 min).
Click here to read the full article.
Robin McKie, Exercise can help prevent cancers, new research finds
(The Guardian, 14 February 2021)
This doesn’t come as a surprise to those who read our Wellness Barometer. Scientists keep repeating that practising a regular exercise is going to become increasingly important in helping to prevent cancers. Research shows that among the cancers that have been shown to benefit from improved physical activity are breast and bowel cancers, but it also proves that those who have been treated for primary tumours have a better chance of their cancers not returning if they exercise more often and have improved diets (reads in 5-6 min).
Click here to read the full article.
