Dr Thomas Ziesemer explains details from his recent working paper on investment, growth and consumption in sub-Saharan Africa, touching in particular on issues of population sustainability. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=661

Professor Luc Soete is Director of UNU-MERIT, Dean of the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, and in September 2012 will take on the role of Rector Magnificus at Maastricht University. In this brief portrait we find out more about the man behind the titles, including some of his life philosophies and why he became an economist in the first place. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=658

Our new season of podcasts begins with Daniel Vertesy, who today successfully defended his PhD on the role of emerging economies in the aerospace industry. We asked him why Brazil has succeeded while others have failed. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=637

Can OpenEd bring formal education up to speed with the flatter, online world of the 21st century? Can it guarantee a new wave of culture and class-neutral education? How far is it penetrating beyond the English speaking world?

In today's globalized economy, firms depend on external partners to manage uncertainty. After an exhaustive global survey, Tina Saebi explains why firms need to carefully customize their approach in line with their partner portfolios.

Subsidies and commodity speculation: how do they affect food security around the world? What is the role of the World Food Programme? We talk with Tareq Abuelhaj, who works in Iraq for WFP, about his doctoral research at MGSoG.

UNU formally accredited our MPP programme in May 2011. Education director Lutz Krebs spells out what this means for our students, and reveals plans for more partnerships linked to specializations, capstone and internship programmes.

How can the European Union realize the full benefits of immigration? Should integration policy focus not only on the number of immigrants but also on their employability? Is the EU’s blue card policy too restrictive? To find out more click on play or read our working paper on 'Immigration and growth in an ageing economy'. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=596

How far do risk pricing, state guarantees and Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) affect financial stability? Did PPPs contribute to the near bankruptcy of Greece? When should governments intervene in these key partnerships? Click play to hear the answers to these questions and more from Manos Sfakianakis, a PhD fellow at the School of Governance who defends his thesis on 25 May. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=591

Indicators are a kind of technology, a product, which governs behaviour and develops in response to user needs. But what are the real-world social impacts of their development? Could innovation indicators be used to help poorer countries catch up? And is the EU on the right track in terms of monitoring and encouraging innovation? Click play for the answers to these questions and more. This podcast is based on the UNU working paper attached below. http://www.merit.unu.edu/permalink.php?id=584