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Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

28 commentaries

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, is a former finance minister and foreign affairs minister of Nigeria and board chair of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Global Public Leader at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a co-chair of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water.

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  1. WTO Reform Is Everyone’s Responsibility
    okonjoiweala27_GIUSEPPE CACACEAFP via Getty Images_WTO13ministerialconference Giuseppe Cacace/AFP via Getty Images

    WTO Reform Is Everyone’s Responsibility

    Mar 28, 2024 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala writes that meaningful change will come only when members other than the US help steer the organization.

  2. The Trade-Finance Gap Is Holding Back Developing Economies
    okonjoiweala26 trade iStock / Getty Images Plus

    The Trade-Finance Gap Is Holding Back Developing Economies

    Dec 13, 2023 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala & Makhtar Diop consider how to get more working capital into the hands of exporters and importers in lower-income countries.

  3. Confronting the Global Water Crisis
    mazzucato52_Mario TamaGetty Images_water agriculture drought Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Confronting the Global Water Crisis

    Mar 17, 2023 Mariana Mazzucato, et al. offer a seven-point blueprint for preserving one of the planet’s most important natural systems.

  4. Fixing the Food Trade
    okonjoiweala24_Sjoerd van der WalGetty Images_agriculture trade Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images

    Fixing the Food Trade

    Oct 21, 2022 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala touts a more holistic approach that aligns policies with a stronger base of evidence about what works.

  5. The Trade Agenda Today
    op_okonjoiweala2_ FABRICE COFFRINIAFP via Getty Images_ngoziokonjoiweala Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

    The Trade Agenda Today

    Sep 30, 2022 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala interviewed by Anne O. Krueger about the challenges facing her organization.

  1. vaheesan2_Michael M. SantiagoGetty Images_gigworkersprotest Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    The Gig Economy vs. America’s Workers

    Sandeep Vaheesan warns that proposed ballot initiatives in Massachusetts would legalize exploitative employment practices.
  2. sherwin13_CURTIS MEANSPOOLAFP via Getty Images_repubicans trump trial CURTIS MEANS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

    King Trump on Trial

    Richard K. Sherwin

    High-ranking Republican politicians have lately been turning up at Donald Trump’s New York City trial to demonstrate solidarity with the former president. But their attendance also serves a more alarming purpose: to validate Trump as a competing source of sovereign power, independent of the US Constitution and the rule of law.

    explains why a parade of Republican leaders have made appearances at the former president’s trial in New York.
  3. spence173_ Joe RaedleGetty Images_power Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Crunch Time for the Power Sector

    Michael Spence argues that developing flexible, stable, and resilient smart grids requires an expanded industrial policy.
  4. op_janeway16_SAUL LOEBAFP via Getty Images_bidenchips Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

    The Rise of Mesoeconomics

    William H. Janeway

    A growing body of literature focusing on the domain between the microeconomic and the macroeconomic has become increasingly relevant in a world beset by supply shocks. Armed with such insights, those designing industrial policies will have a better chance of achieving their overlapping economic- and national-security goals.

    details how a long-neglected field of economic study can be applied to today's most pressing policy challenges.
  5. strain27_Philipp von Ditfurthpicture alliance via Getty Images_AIeducation Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images

    What the AI Pessimists Are Missing

    Michael R. Strain points out that the technology will help to address many of the risks it creates.
  6. ito37_Spencer PlattGetty Images_columbiaprotests Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    The Innocent Bystanders of College Protests

    Takatoshi Ito laments that a radical minority can disrupt the lives of so many in the broader university community.
  7. lacamera1_Wang DongzhenXinhua via Getty Images_COP28 Wang Dongzhen/Xinhua via Getty Images

    Only Public-Private Cooperation Can Accelerate Decarbonization

    Francesco La Camera & Bruce Douglas explain how to translate political commitments into actual wind turbines and solar panels.
  8. haass167_ANATOLII STEPANOVAFP via Getty Images_ukrainesoldiers Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

    Defining Success in Ukraine

    Richard Haass calls for a shift to a defensive posture and efforts to bring about a long-term ceasefire.
  9. aslund75_Pierre CromGetty Images_ukraineconflict Pierre Crom/Getty Images

    A Unified Western Strategy for Ukraine

    Anders Åslund proposes a maximalist approach to military aid to replace the current piecemeal injections of old weapons.

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