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22. Responsible Management and Use of Data in UN Peace Operations
- Author:
- Kseniya Oksamytna
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- In recent years, the UN has embarked on an ambitious project to use data more extensively and effectively to improve the safety of peacekeepers and the implementation of peace operations’ mandates. The increasing availability of various types of data in UN peace operations and the development of new tools for its acquisition and analysis present novel opportunities, enhancing peace operations’ ability to predict and respond to violence; understand the population’s sentiments towards peacekeepers; and provide better analysis to senior mission leadership, UN headquarters, and the UN Security Council. However, UN peace operations’ greater use of data also increases their vulnerability to irresponsible handling of data, information leaks, and cyberattacks and raises ethical challenges over data ownership, host-state sovereignty, the potential to cause social harm, and algorithmic biases. This issue brief provides an overview of how UN peace operations acquire data and use it in their decision making. It also discusses UN policy frameworks on responsible data management and analyzes the challenges peace operations face in acquiring, using, and disseminating data. It concludes with recommendations for member states, UN headquarters, and peace operations personnel to manage and use data more responsibly and effectively: Improve the data-management skills of UN personnel; Strengthen the policy framework for the effective and responsible use of data; Provide adequate and predictable funding for data acquisition, analysis, and use; Enhance internal and external communication about the ways in which UN peace operations gather and use data; and Encourage the proactive use of data in strategic decision making.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Data, and Management
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
23. The Perils of Antitrust Econometrics: Unrealistic Engel Curves, Inadequate Data, and Aggregation Bias
- Author:
- Gabriel A. Lozada
- Publication Date:
- 05-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
- Abstract:
- Some economists argue antitrust policy should be based on empirical methods used by the Industrial Organization subdiscipline of economics, but non-economists must understand that those methods contain certain highly restrictive assumptions. Those assumptions involve econometric “identification,” and treating aggregate demand as if it were generated by a representative consumer (Muellbauer’s “generalized linear” preferences). We derive new results illustrating how restrictive the representative consumer assumption is; we explain aggregation bias in Almost Ideal Demand System models; and we show that data limitations make it even harder to justify economists’ restricting aggregate demands as one would the demand of a single individual.
- Topic:
- Economics, Antitrust Law, Data, and Econometrics
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
24. An Analysis of Trends in the US Undocumented Population Since 2011 and Estimates of the Undocumented Population for 2021
- Author:
- Robert Warren
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on Migration and Human Security
- Institution:
- Center for Migration Studies of New York
- Abstract:
- In 2021, the undocumented population residing in the United States (US) increased slightly to 10.3 million, compared to 10.2 million the previous year. The gradual decline or near-zero growth of this population has continued for more than a decade. However, the large increases in apprehensions at the southern border in recent years, along with continued legislative gridlock in Congress, could portend a new era of growth of this population. Unfortunately, the data needed to determine whether the population will enter a period of growth after 2021 — or whether the era of near-zero growth will continue — will not be available for at least a year or two. The most accurate demographic estimates of the undocumented population are derived from data collected in the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Estimates of the size of the undocumented population in 2022 will not be available until early 2024. This report focuses on the most significant trend in the undocumented population in the past decade — the remarkable decline of 1.9 million in the undocumented population from Mexico from 2011 to 2021. The decline for Mexico in this period was 600,000 more than the total population increase from the seven countries (in order) with the fastest growing US undocumented populations: Guatemala, Honduras, India, Venezuela, El Salvador, Brazil, and China. This paper finds that: • The long-term decline, or near-zero growth, of the total undocumented population that began in 2008 continued in 2021. • The percent of undocumented residents in the total US population declined from 3.8 percent in 2011 to 3.1 percent in 2021. • The undocumented population from Mexico declined from 6.4 million in 2011 to 4.4 million in 2021, a drop of 1.9 million in 10 years. • A total of 2.9 million, or 47 percent, of the US undocumented population from Mexico in 2011 had left the undocumented population by 2021. • The drop in the undocumented population from Mexico from 2011 to 2021 occurred nationwide, and the decline affected the undocumented population in nearly every state. • The fastest growing undocumented populations by country in the last 10 years were from Guatemala, Honduras, India, El Salvador, Venezuela, and Brazil. The combined undocumented populations from these six countries grew by 1.2 million. • Countries that had declining populations after 2011 included Poland, Peru, Ecuador, Korea, and Philippines, in addition to the large drop for Mexico. • California had the largest decline in undocumented residents — 665,000 from 2011 to 2021. The undocumented population from Mexico living in California during this period declined by 720,000. • The combined undocumented population in California, New York, and Illinois fell by more than one million from 2021 to 2011.
- Topic:
- Migration, Data, Undocumented Population, and Irregular Migration
- Political Geography:
- North America, Mexico, and United States of America
25. Analysing India’s Economic Security Challenges
- Author:
- Gateway House
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Gateway House: Indian Council on Global Relations
- Abstract:
- Low global commodity prices, strong FDI inflows, and sustained growth have boosted the Indian economy in the preceding decade. This favourable economic climate, however, was disrupted by the pandemic and the crisis in Ukraine, exposing vulnerabilities in the global economic system. This paper focuses on India’s economic security challenges, particularly in six sectors - Food, Energy, Finance, Data, Space & Undersea Cables and Critical Minerals - and suggests possible courses of action.
- Topic:
- Food, Finance, Space, Commodities, Data, COVID-19, Minerals, Economic Security, Energy, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India
26. Mongolia’s State-Owned Mining Enterprises: A Deeper Look Into Glass Accounts Data
- Author:
- Dorjdari Namkhaijantsan
- Publication Date:
- 05-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Natural Resource Governance Institute
- Abstract:
- Mongolia’s Glass Accounts Law (2014) requires that government entities and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) disclose detailed financial and operational information on a public website. The government’s Glass Accounts portal has since become a focal point for government transparency. However, uptake of the law has been uneven among government entities, and specifically for many SOEs operating in Mongolia. In part, this lack of implementation stems from the law’s ambiguity on who should report, but it also resulted from the government’s inactivity and poor enforcement as well as limited sanctions for those who do not comply.
- Topic:
- Governance, Mining, Data, and State-Owned Enterprises
- Political Geography:
- Mongolia and Asia
27. Unreliable Data Have Infected the Policy Debates Over Drug Patents
- Author:
- Adam Mossoff
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Hudson Institute
- Abstract:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has vividly brought to the public’s attention the key role of medical innovation in saving lives and increasing the quality of daily life. The pandemic has also precipitated an international debate over the role of patents and other intellectual property rights in the discovery, manufacture, and distribution of drugs and vaccines to patients. Even before COVID-19, there has been an ongoing policy debate in Washington, D.C., over drug prices and patents with congressional hearings, proposed legislation, and antitrust enforcement actions. The pandemic has thus made apparent what reliable data have already shown: poorly crafted legislation or antitrust enforcement actions could have a tremendous negative impact on the innovation economy in general and on healthcare specifically by undermining the incentives that drive the billions invested annually in the research and development of life-saving drugs and other medical treatments. Congress and regulators should engage in evidence-based policymaking on these important issues, which have far-reaching implications for economic growth and quality of life. This policy memo identifies a serious concern about the data in these discussions.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Intellectual Property/Copyright, Innovation, Data, and Pharmaceuticals
- Political Geography:
- North America and United States of America
28. Digital resilience beyond data localisation: National approaches to global challenges
- Author:
- Markus Holmgren
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
- Abstract:
- Data localisation refers to the technologies and policies aimed at ensuring localised data hosting and localised data routing instead of utilising offshore server and processing centres. Data localisation is often suggested as a solution to global challenges stemming from the increasing dependence of societies on data and digital technologies, as well as the fear of an external actor leveraging this dependence for power political purposes. Data localisation does not, however, reduce key technological dependencies. The goal of digital resilience should be to ensure the security and continuity of data and infrastructure software, and to secure access to critical digital services irrespective of their location. Instead of data localisation measures, international cooperation should be deepened and digital traffic should have overseeing systems similar to those that have been in place for land, air, and maritime traffic for decades. EU member states would benefit greatly from the creation of a unified auditing and standardisation process within the European single market. At the same time, tighter ties with US digital service providers would improve digital resilience.
- Topic:
- Local, Resilience, Data, and Digitalization
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
29. Strengthening Data to Protect Healthcare in Conflict Zones
- Author:
- Rohini Haar and Susannah Sirkin
- Publication Date:
- 11-2022
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute (IPI)
- Abstract:
- Attacks on healthcare in situations of armed conflict have been reported at alarming levels over the past two decades. In response to this problem, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2286, which urges states to collect data on attacks on medical personnel, transport, and facilities. This data is essential to understand the scale and scope of the problem, protect health services and workers, prioritize resources to those most impacted, prevent future attacks, and hold perpetrators accountable. This paper examines why data on threats to and attacks on healthcare in conflict is important to protection, advocacy, and investigation and how it can be improved and harmonized. It provides an overview of existing data-collection efforts—namely, the Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) and the database produced by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) in partnership with Insecurity Insight—and identifies challenges and gaps at both the policy and technical levels. This paper concludes with the following recommendations for the World Health Organization (WHO), other UN entities, UN member states, and NGOs: The World Health Assembly should adopt a resolution calling on WHO to address the major concerns in the structure and operation of the SSA; WHO should make technical improvements to the quality and presentation of data in the SSA and be open to a range of data-collection methodologies; Other UN agencies, governments, and civil society organizations should take steps to improve the collection and sharing of data on attacks on healthcare to improve protection, prevention, and accountability; and Governments, NGOs, and other actors should increase the funding and capacity of existing data-collection initiatives.
- Topic:
- Health, Humanitarian Aid, United Nations, Conflict, UN Security Council, Data, and WHO
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
30. Reification of Data: the Right to be Forgotten, Data Ownership, Network Usage Fee, and Data Sovereignty
- Author:
- Kyung-Sin Park
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Institution:
- Brown Journal of World Affairs
- Abstract:
- A regression is taking place around the world: the reification of data. Data is a relationship between sentient beings and the objects sensed, knowledge of the world external to the consciousness of that being. Transfer of data is speech. Collection of data is learning. Thus, a restriction on the transfer of data is a restriction on speech or the freedom of speech.1 A restriction on the collection of data becomes a restriction on learning or the freedom to learn. Data—origi- nally, a configuration of the consciousness perceiving external objects—is being rei3ed, that is, treated as if it is a tangible thing. Increasingly, data is deemed to be a possession by people reflected in it or those producing it and subject to delivery fees for transfer. Data is deemed capable of being “owned by data subjects,” “owned by data producers,” or charged fees for delivery.2
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Networks, Data, Digital Sovereignty, and Right to be Forgotten
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus