Introduction
Virtually every country is experiencing a growth in the size and proportion of older persons in the population, a demographic change with significant economic and social consequences (UN DESA, 2023). Several of these developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, will also experience a large increase in their young working age populations, presenting a unique opportunity to improve living standards for all, including those who would be ageing out of the workforce.
A larger working-age population can contribute to increased labour force participation, driving economic growth and productivity. Individuals in this group tend to also accumulate savings at a higher rate,…
Frontier Technology Issues: Harnessing the economic dividends from demographic change
Introduction
While fertilizers, genetically modified crops, and biotechnology have brought substantial benefits for farmers in recent decades, the accelerated application of smart, digital, and precision agricultural technologies offers a historic opportunity to improve farm productivity going forward. Such technologies are wide-ranging, including small mobile applications for decision support, field sensors and remote sensing technologies for data collection, drones and robots for automation of processes, and digital platforms for market access and sales. Use of these technologies helps address information asymmetries and deficiencies facing farmers, particularly smallholders, which can…
Frontier Technology Issues: Frontier technologies for smallholder farmers: addressing information asymmetries and deficiencies
Download Frontier Technology Issues: Lithium-ion batteries: a pillar for a fossil fuel-free economy? (PDF)
Introduction
In 2019, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry to three scientists for the development of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries that, according to the Academy, have laid the foundation for a fossil fuel-free economy. Li-ion batteries can safely store large amounts of energy, ensuring stable and predictable flows of electricity even in decentralized immobile (i.e., stationary) or mobile modes in remote areas. The increasing popularity of passenger electric vehicles and electric buses is largely a result of the capacity improvement of Li-ion…
Frontier Technology Issues: Lithium-ion batteries: a pillar for a fossil fuel-free economy?
Introduction
As countries respond to the COVID-19 crisis, frontier digital technologies are unlocking new possibilities to build back better and to put countries back on the path to achieve the SDGs. This Frontier Technology Issue (FTI) focuses on the role of digital technologies to contribute to positive outcomes in three areas deemed important in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis: creating economic growth and decent work (SDG 8), combating the virus and improving public health and well-being (SDG 3), and providing high-quality education to all (SDG 4).
This FTI also discusses how digital technologies are widening disparities and are accentuating the digital divide in societies and…
Frontier Technology Issues: Can digital technologies put us back on the path to achieve the SDGs?
The severity of plastic pollution is now well-recognized, and countries and communities are looking for innovative solutions for addressing this menace of the modern age. This issue of the Frontier Technology Quarterly shows that new technologies such as nanotechnology, genetic modification and advanced chemical processes can help curb plastic pollution by developing natural substitutes and producing more biodegradable plastics. However, appropriate policies are needed to maximize the potential of new technologies for winning the fight against plastic pollution. Interventions at the production stage will have to be complemented by interventions at other stages of the plastics life cycle,…
Frontier Technology Quarterly: Frontier technologies for addressing plastic pollution
Genetic technologies?the ability to manipulate and transform the properties of cells, seeds, microbes, insects, plants, animals and even humans?are pushing the frontiers of science and offers us new hope for disease control and cure. This field has come a long way since Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, first postulated the rule of heredity in the 1850s. Genetic technologies are changing the way we produce food, improving crop yield and preventing catastrophic losses from droughts, floods and pests. They also are offering new solutions for fighting cancer and many hereditary diseases, improving quality of life and life expectancy. In addition, genetic technologies are increasingly used…
Frontier Technology Quarterly: Playing with genes: The good, the bad and the ugly
Data is shaping the future of humanity. The production, distribution and consumption of digital data-the data economy-are driving rapid advances in machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation. Individuals and businesses are using data to reduce search and transaction costs and make informed choices. Data is facilitating scientific and medical research, making societies more productive. It is helping to improve the efficacy of public policy, delivery of public services, transparency and accountability. Data is helping us track progress on every sustainable development goal in the 2030 Agenda and deliver broad-based social welfare.
I. Data economy is different
Distinctions…
Frontier Technology Quarterly: Data Economy: Radical transformation or dystopia?
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