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The first weeks of May 2022 have seen a reckoning for cryptoassets (digital tokens such as Bitcoin) and so-called “stablecoins” (which aim to peg their value to a specified asset such as the US dollar). Their combined market capitalization fell from $1.85 trillion to $1.34 trillion between May 1st and May 15th, triggered by the collapse of a major stablecoin. This was down from a peak of over $3 trillion in November 2021. The drop in valuation since late 2021 was over twice as sharp as the drop in other financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500.
Although there have been large swings in the valuation of cryptoassets in the past, the recent expansion of the crypto ecosystem, along…
This year marks the 20-year milestone of the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, a landmark agreement in which Governments committed to “building a society for all ages”. The Madrid Plan of Action contains a broad range of objectives, including that of reducing poverty among older persons.
Poverty is a particular risk for older persons. Most people work less or stop working altogether at some point in old age, either for health reasons, family responsibilities, because they must or want to retire at the statutory retirement age, or because discrimination undermines their employment opportunities. While many older persons remain productive, many of their contributions to their…
Languages are one of the most significant emblems of human diversity, revealing how we can perceive, relate to, and understand the world differently. Languages are vehicles of our cultures, collective memory and values. They are an essential component of our identities.
Out of the 6,700 languages spoken worldwide, forty percent are in danger of disappearing. Indigenous Peoples make up less than 6 percent of the global population, yet they speak more than 4,000 of the world’s languages. Most of the languages that are under threat are Indigenous languages.
This dilemma is human-made and is exacerbated by ongoing assimilationist policies, social pressure, demographic change and the emphasis…
CDP Background Paper No. 55
By Mohammad Abdur Razzaque
The United Kingdom has adopted a new Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which comprises three different regimes – one for least developed countries (LDCs), one for non-LDC economically vulnerable low-income and lower-middle-income countries, and one for other low-income and lower-middle-income countries. Compared to the previous scheme, which largely mirrored the European Union’s, the DCTS makes it easier for an LDC to accede to the intermediary “Enhanced Preferences” scheme when it graduates. For most countries, graduation from the LDC category will have little impact on trade with the United Kingdom, and less impact than it…
Two “population billionaires”, China and India, face divergent demographic futures
The latest estimates and projections of global population from the United Nations, indicate that China will soon cede its long-held status as the world’s most populous country. In April 2023, India’s population is expected to reach 1,425,775,850 people, matching and then surpassing the population of mainland China (figure 1).
India’s population is virtually certain to continue to grow for several decades. By contrast, China’s population reached its peak size recently and experienced a decline during 2022. Projections indicate that the size of the Chinese population will continue to fall and could drop below…