March 2009

Miguel Urquiola and Eric Verhoogen published a paper on the effect of class size on student performance. The paper is scheduled for publication in the March 2009 edition of American Economic Review. After studying data from Chile’s liberalized education market, Professors Urquiola and Verhoogen examine how schools’ choices of class size and households’ choices of schools affect regression-discontinuity based estimates. 

Joseph Stiglitz presented a lecture at United Nations University-NY, entitled "Explaining the Financial Crisis and What It Means for the Future of Global Development." The lecture was part of UNU-NY’s series "Emerging Thinking on Global Issues," which aims to promote thinking on global issues through lectures by world class experts and scholars.

Watch a video of Professor Stiglitz’s lecture.
UNU-NY Director Dr. Jean-Marc Coicaud interviews Professor Stiglitz here.

Rashid Khalidi published Sowing Crisis: The Cold War and American Hegemony in the Middle East. In his book, Professor Khalidi dissects the crucial dynamics of power during the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, as it played out in the Middle East. He argues that the intense rivalry between the United States and the U.S.S.R. in the region set the stage for the conflicts that followed in its wake. More

Jeffrey Sachs won the 2009 Green Book Award from Stevens Institute of Technology's Center for Science Writings. Professor Sachs won for his 2008 book Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. He proposes detailed solutions not only for extreme poverty but also for related global problems such as overpopulation and environmental degradation. Professor Sachs will receive the award and deliver a lecture on April 20 at 4:30 p.m. at the Stevens Institute’s Babbio Center. More

Ambassador S. Azmat Hassan of Pakistan is now serving as an adjunct professor at SIPA, teaching a course on geopolitics of South Asia. Since 2000, Ambassador Hassan has served on the faculty at the John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations at Seton Hall University. His appointment at Seton Hall followed 33 years as a diplomat for Pakistan, including postings to Malaysia, Syria and Morocco, and as Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York. More

Robert Jervis published “Unipolarity: A Structured Perspective” in World Politics in January 2009. “In analyzing the current unipolar system, it is useful to begin with structure. No other state or plausible coalition can challenge the unipole’s core security, but this does not mean that all its values are safe or that it can get everything that it wants," Jervis writes. "Contrary to what is often claimed, standard balance of power arguments do not imply that a coalition will form to challenge the unipole.”  

Guillermo Calvo participated in a World Bank interactive video conference on the economic crisis. Professor Calvo was joined by Patrick Honohan of Ireland’s Trinity College in speaking with policymakers and analysts at the third “Global Dialogues as a Response to the Global Economic Crisis.” The dialogues were organized by the World Bank Institute (WBI) to provide an opportunity for policymakers to share their experiences. The Global Dialogue is available on video and podcast from the World Bank. More

The Morningside Post, SIPA’s community blog, has launched its new Web site. Established in 2004, The Morningside Post (TMP) has become a leading blog among graduate schools of international affairs and public policy in the United States, featuring intellectually curious and passionate bloggers, as well as readers from the SIPA community and throughout the world. Enhanced features include videos of SIPA speakers, space for student groups to post stories and events, and subscription services to posts according to author, region and topic. TMP will also partner with other blogs that feature perspectives on international affairs. Visit www.themorningsidepost.com.

New Curriculum: A revised curriculum, which will go into effect in fall 2009, will add new managerial courses to a unified core curriculum, in response to suggestions from  alumni and employers about the skills that are critical for success. In addition, the School will streamline the number of functional concentrations from nineteen to six, allowing SIPA to focus resources on a smaller number of areas of excellence. More

Peacekeeping in Haiti: What is the role of peacekeeping in a country that suffers from extreme poverty, political instability, and deep social divisions? That’s the question a group of SIPA students are working to answer, after an eye-opening visit with the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. “There’s a perception that Haiti is constantly buried in intractable crisis, which does it a major disservice,” says Marcy Hersh (MIA ’09). The findings will be presented in a paper at a conference on April 7 sponsored by the U.N. Studies Program at SIPA.

Read more about the project here.
View a slide show.
Read Marcy Hersh’s first-person account in Communiqué.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus outlined his vision for a new business model in his talk on " Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism." The event was co-sponsored by Center for the Study of Human Rights, Center for the Humanities, SIPA's Economic and Political Development Concentration, and Committee on Global Thought. Watch the video.

Building Leaders for the Next Generation: SIPA’s Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR) and Consensus, a negotiation and conflict resolution consulting firm, are offering a series of executive workshops on leadership and negotiation skills. Participants will have the opportunity to hone their skills through intensive two-day sessions conducted at Columbia University. The initial four workshops are scheduled to take place between May and October of 2009. More

Rajiv Dalal (MIA ’06) has been named managing director of the Motion Picture Association’s new office in India, with a mandate to spearhead the American film industry’s anti-piracy efforts there, liaise with the Indian government and represent Hollywood studio interests. More

James Leitner (MIA ‘77) has been selected to receive a 2009 Columbia University Alumni Medal. The award is in recognition of Mr. Leitner’s volunteer work for more than ten years on behalf of SIPA and Columbia University. President Lee Bollinger will present the medal recipients at commencement exercises on May 20. They’ll also be honored next fall during the Annual Worldwide CAA Alumni Leaders Assembly.

Peter Marber (MIA ’87), an adjunct professor at SIPA, will present his new book Seeing the Elephant: Understanding Globalization from Trunk to Tail, Monday, March 30 at 6 p.m., International Affairs Building, Room 1512. The event is part of SIPA’s Authors’ Series. Marber describes how increasing economic integration and the rise of new actors is drastically altering the geopolitical landscape, and offers insights on how the United States can maintain a leading role in the 21st century and beyond. More

Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation: SIPA presents the annual Investcorp Lecture, given by Nandan M. Nilekani, Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd. Thursday, March 26 at 6 p.m., International Affairs Building, Room 1501. Registration required. More

African Economic Forum: The 6th Annual African Economic Forum will be held March 27 – 28 at Columbia University. The theme of this year’s forum is “From Assets to Action - Unmasking Africa's Diverse Resources in a Challenging Era.” It will explore the continent’s challenges and successes in agriculture, law, post-conflict economic development, finance, tourism and information and communications technology. Keynote speakers are Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, World Bank Managing Director, and George Ayittey
Ghanaian economist, author and president of the Free Africa Foundation. More

Trade Policy for the Development Executive: The Picker Center for Executive Education and the World Bank Institute are offering a comprehensive two-week course in trade policy for development. The course will be held June 1 – 12, and is targeted at middle- to senior-level government trade officials, their advisors and business leaders from developing countries. The course will also be open to staff from international organizations, donor governments, and civil society organizations in developed countries. The application deadline is April 1. More

A Conversation with Shlomo Ben-Ami: In the first of a series presented by the Center for International Conflict Resolution, Álvaro de Soto will conduct a public conversation with Shlomo Ben-Ami on Gaza, the Israeli elections and the prospects for peace in the Middle East. Ben-Ami is Vice-President of the Toledo International Centre for Peace, and former Minister of Internal Security, Foreign Minister and Security Minister to Israel. Friday, March 27 at 1 p.m., International Affairs Building, Room 1512.

Jeffrey Sachs on salvaging the “Big 3” automakers, Fortune

Joseph Stiglitz on nationalizing U.S. banks, PBS’s Nightly Business Report,

Dean John Coatsworth on President Obama, Hugo Chavez and relations with Venezuela, Newsweek

Jagdish Bhagwati on Barack Obama and Protectionism, Financial Times

Arvind Panagariya on India’s financial secret weapon, Foreign Policy

Richard K. Betts on the three faces of NATO, The National Interest

Rashid Khalidi on Palestinian Advocacy, Chronicle of Higher Education

Robbie Barnett on the 50th Anniversary of the Tibet Uprising, The Economist, Bloomberg News, The Christian Science Monitor, WCBS-TV, NBC Nightly News

Mahmood Mamdani on Sudan’s President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, National Public Radio

To contribute news and information for Inside SIPA, contact Alex Burnett, Communications Officer, at 212-851-1818 or sipacommunications@columbia.edu.