Friday Roundup: Leading Thinker Kaushik Basu, Cost of the Syrian War, Cuba and the Thaw

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Readers of Prospect magazine selected Kaushik Basu for inclusion in their list of the world’s leading thinkers in 2014, with Kaushik coming in at #6.

A new WB working paper estimates that the three year war in Syria, and the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), has cost the region $35b.

Citing the recently launched World Development Report 'Mind, Society and Behavior,' Martin Wolf of the Financial Times calls for a nuanced approach to policy that looks beyond a narrow focus on incentives.

Mexico’s former Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Jorge G. Castañeda, writes on Cuba, explaining that the specter of reduced oil subsidies from Venezuela and Russia was an important factor in the thawing of US- Cuba relations.

The WTO announced this week that a multi-donor program that helps the poorest countries be more active in global trade — the Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) – will have its mandate extended.