Examines the forces for change, analyzes their impact over the course of the next twenty-five years, and shares a vision of the social, economic, and political conditions of the future.

An encyclopedia designed especially to meet the needs of elementary, junior high, and senior high school students.

Get thousands of facts at your fingertips with this essential resource. The World Almanac® and Book of Facts is America’s best-selling reference book of all time, with more than 82 million copies sold. For more than 150 years, this compendium of information has been the authoritative source for all your entertainment, reference, and learning needs. The 2020 edition of The World Almanac reviews the biggest events of 2019 and will be your go-to source for questions on any topic in the upcoming year. Praised as a “treasure trove of political, economic, scientific and educational statistics and information” by The Wall Street Journal, The World Almanac and Book of Facts will answer all of your trivia needs effortlessly—from history and sports to geography, pop culture, and much more. Features include: Decade in Review: As the ‘teens’ decade closes, take a look at the highlights, low points, and everything-in-between of the past 10 years. From the introduction of Obamacare and iPads in 2010 to “Old Town Road” and the immigration policy debate in 2019, The World Almanac provides a recap of events and puts into perspective just how much has—and hasn’t—changed in the last 10 years. 2020 Election Preview: The World Almanac provides a comprehensive look at the entire 2020 election process, including a calendar of state primaries and caucuses. Also includes 2019 election results for governors’ seats and special congressional elections. World Almanac Editors’ Picks: Never Say Die: With Tiger Woods achieving the seemingly impossible in 2019 with his 15th major title—his first Masters win in 14 years—the editors list their favorite major comeback moments from athletes across the sports universe. The World at a Glance: This annual feature of The World Almanac provides a quick look at the surprising stats and curious facts that define the changing world. Statistical Spotlight: A popular annual graphic feature highlights statistics relevant to the biggest news of the year. These data visualizations provide important context and new perspectives to give readers a fresh angle on key issues. The Year in Review: The World Almanac takes a look back at 2019 while providing all the information you'll need in 2020. 2019—Top 10 News Topics: The editors of The World Almanac list the top stories that held the world's attention in 2019. 2019—Year in Sports: Hundreds of pages of trivia and statistics that are essential for any sports fan, featuring coverage of the women’s World Cup soccer tournament; a preview of the upcoming 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan; the World Series, improved MLB player stats, and much more. 2019—Year in Pictures: Striking full-color images from around the world in 2019, covering news, entertainment, science, and sports. 2019—Offbeat News Stories: The World Almanac editors select some of the most unusual news stories of the year. World Almanac Editors' Picks: Time Capsule: The World Almanac lists the items that most came to symbolize the year 2019, from news and sports to pop culture. New Sections: Reorganized chapters on “Food and Agriculture,” “Educational Statistics,” and “Colleges and Universities” make it easier to find information about subjects like nutrition, student loans, a directory of colleges, and much more. Other New Highlights: New statistics on income tax reform, top-grossing movies, biggest YouTube channels, religious populations in the U.S. and worldwide, and much more.

'A timely and cogent reminder that history never ends and is about to be made' - Tim Marshall, author of Prisoners of Geography With the world already struggling to contain conflicts on several continents, with security and defence expenditure under huge pressure, it's time to think the unthinkable and explore what might happen. As former soldiers now working in defence strategy and conflict resolution, Paul Cornish and Kingsley Donaldson are perfectly qualified to guide us through a credible and utterly convincing 20/20 vision of the year 2020, from cyber security to weapons technology, from geopolitics to undercover operations. This book is of global importance, offering both analysis and creative solutions - essential reading both for decision-makers and everyone who simply wants to understand our future.

Where do we see China’s changes? What are the guiding principles behind these changes? Are China’s diplomatic policies and international strategies more reflective of its own national conditions or international trends? How will China balance its ideology with national interests? How does China see the current international order and its new position within the existing order? Besides answering these basic questions, this volume considers two other important issues: First, the future of China after its era of continuous high-speed growth; and second, (the all-important question in China’s foreign affairs) the future of Sino-US relations? 2013 was China’s first year under new leadership, and there is a consensus amongst researchers of China’s international affairs that the diplomatic practices China undertook to a great extent demonstrated new characteristics, perspectives, and requirements of the new leadership.

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fifteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

For many observers, the European Union is mired in a deep crisis. Between sluggish growth; political turmoil following a decade of austerity politics; Brexit; and the rise of Asian influence, the EU is seen as a declining power on the world stage. Columbia Law professor Anu Bradford argues the opposite in her important new book The Brussels Effect: the EU remains an influential superpower that shapes the world in its image. By promulgating regulations that shape the international business environment, elevating standards worldwide, and leading to a notable Europeanization of many important aspects of global commerce, the EU has managed to shape policy in areas such as data privacy, consumer health and safety, environmental protection, antitrust, and online hate speech. And in contrast to how superpowers wield their global influence, the Brussels Effect - a phrase first coined by Bradford in 2012- absolves the EU from playing a direct role in imposing standards, as market forces alone are often sufficient as multinational companies voluntarily extend the EU rule to govern their global operations. The Brussels Effect shows how the EU has acquired such power, why multinational companies use EU standards as global standards, and why the EU's role as the world's regulator is likely to outlive its gradual economic decline, extending the EU's influence long into the future.

#1 New York Times Bestseller! Get thousands of facts at your fingertips with this essential resource: business, the arts and pop culture, science and technology, U.S. history and government, world geography, sports, and so much more. The World Almanac® is America’s bestselling reference book of all time, with more than 83 million copies sold. For more than 150 years, this compendium of information has been the authoritative source for school, library, business, and home. The 2021 edition of The World Almanac reviews the biggest events of 2020 and will be your go-to source for questions on any topic in the upcoming year. Praised as a “treasure trove of political, economic, scientific and educational statistics and information” by The Wall Street Journal, The World Almanac and Book of Facts will answer all of your trivia needs effortlessly. Features include: 2020 Election Results: The World Almanac provides a comprehensive look at the entire 2020 election process, from the roller coaster of the early primaries to state and county presidential voting results and coverage of House, Senate, and gubernatorial races. 2020 Coronavirus Pandemic: A special section provides up-to-the-minute information about the world’s largest public health crisis in at least a century, providing information on what scientists know about the virus so far—and what still needs to be learned—along with an update on vaccine progress, statistical data and graphics, and useful practical measures for readers. World Almanac Editors' Picks: Memorable Summer Olympic Moments: The World Almanac took a look back at past editions of the Olympic Summer Games to create a highlight reel of memorable moments to tide sports fans over until Tokyo in 2021. 2020—Top 10 News Topics: The editors of The World Almanac list the top stories that held the world's attention in 2020. 2020—Year in Sports: Hundreds of pages of trivia and statistics that are essential for any sports fan, featuring complete coverage of the sports world’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a preview of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, and much more. 2020—Year in Pictures: Striking full-color images from around the world in 2020, covering news, entertainment, science, and sports. 2020—Offbeat News Stories: The World Almanac editors found some of the strangest news stories of the year. World Almanac Editors' Picks: Time Capsule: The World Almanac lists the items that most came to symbolize the year 2020, from news and sports to pop culture. The World at a Glance: This annual feature of The World Almanac provides a quick look at the surprising stats and curious facts that define the changing world. Statistical Spotlight: This annual feature highlights statistics relevant to the biggest stories of the year. These data provide context to give readers a fresh perspective on important issues. Other New Highlights: Newly available statistics on how the COVID-19 pandemic and widespread shutdowns have affected businesses, air quality, employment, education, families’ living situations and access to food, and much more.

Human capital—the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate over their lives—is a central driver of sustainable growth, poverty reduction, and successful societies. More human capital is associated with higher earnings for people, higher income for countries, and stronger cohesion in societies. Much of the hard-won human capital gains in many economies over the past decade is at risk of being eroded by the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. Urgent action is needed to protect these advances, particularly among the poor and vulnerable. Designing the needed interventions, targeting them to achieve the highest effectiveness, and navigating difficult trade-offs make investing in better measurement of human capital now more important than ever. The Human Capital Index (HCI)—launched in 2018 as part of the Human Capital Project—is an international metric that benchmarks the key components of human capital across economies. The HCI is a global effort to accelerate progress toward a world where all children can achieve their full potential. Measuring the human capital that children born today can expect to attain by their 18th birthdays, the HCI highlights how current health and education outcomes shape the productivity of the next generation of workers and underscores the importance of government and societal investments in human capital. The Human Capital Index 2020 Update: Human Capital in the Time of COVID-19 presents the first update of the HCI, using health and education data available as of March 2020. It documents new evidence on trends, examples of successes, and analytical work on the utilization of human capital. The new data—collected before the global onset of COVID-19—can act as a baseline to track its effects on health and education outcomes. The report highlights how better measurement is essential for policy makers to design effective interventions and target support. In the immediate term, investments in better measurement and data use will guide pandemic containment strategies and support for those who are most affected. In the medium term, better curation and use of administrative, survey, and identification data can guide policy choices in an environment of limited fiscal space and competing priorities. In the longer term, the hope is that economies will be able to do more than simply recover lost ground. Ambitious, evidence-driven policy measures in health, education, and social protection can pave the way for today’s children to surpass the human capital achievements and quality of life of the generations that preceded them.

Originally published in 1985, Capital City: London as a Financial Centre proves in depth analytical description of the financial institutions of the City of London. The book describes in detail the operations of the banks, the stock market, the insurance world and other bodies that make up the world¿s largest international financial centre. The book also answers a series of questions on the City¿s performance, accountability and honesty and explains how the City reached its present position, discuss its future.