Singapore Competitiveness Report 2009
The LKY School of Public Policy just released its Singapore Competitiveness Report for 2009. You can download it here.

SocGen’s Worst Case Debt Scenario
I think the first para says it well. “But while we believe the greatest danger is past, we also recognise the price of our salvation has yet to be paid in full.” SocGen’s view on how public debt will swing recovery (or not) in the next five years. View this document on Scribd

Electric Cars – Where will be the breakthrough?
The conventional view on electric cars is that US and China will lead. Certainly, media reports on Tesla and BYD support this conventional view. But a recent post in Tim Jones’ blog poses the question whether these will be the locations for the early breakthroughs or if other regions may well have a higher chance of delivering the vision. For him, there are two issues which may mean that this US / China leadership should be questioned. The first issue is the fact that other countries have already made the decisions and are acting on them. Electric ca

Food Map: Africa as the next breadbasket?
Much of the world’s arable land is being farmed already, so the lion’s share of the increase will need to come through higher yields. In many places, yields can increase—if prices rise high enough to make investment in more-intensive agriculture worthwhile. Still, much of the developed world is approaching the ceiling of what is cheaply possible. Sub-Saharan Africa, despite its long history of food insecurity, is one place where yields could increase dramatically; agricultural bas

Ideo’s David Kelley on “Design Thinking”
Everyone should read Ideo’s David Kelley on “Design Thinking”!! It’s not the newest article (and I don’t know how I missed it the first time, considering how religiously I read Fast Company).  Nevertheless, a lot of it resonated with us here at the Futures Group.  I have a million thoughts in my head.  Thoughts around how “creativity can be summoned at will, with a process not unlike the scientific method”, how crisis disrupts the status quo and presents amazing opportunity, how “ideas can attract more powerful acolytes an