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Consumer Behavior Economics Trend Watching

Living in Germany: fascination with saving money

Germans not only have been saving more than their UK counterparts, but the deep rooted national habit has more implications than those numbers would reveal […]

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Economics Information Technology Trend Watching

Internet in Brazil: IDB report warns about digital divide

Infrastructure problems and lack of familiarity of the users make Brazil a country that goes ‘two-speed’ internet, according to data presented recently by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) […]

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China Economics Trend Watching

Education in China: Shanghai teenagers are world’s smartest?

Chinese parents and education experts have shrugged off a report from an international organization saying Shanghai students the best education in the world […]

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China Innovation

China, Technology, Innovation and the Environment: Self-innovation key for China’s industrial modernization

China should focus on self-innovation rather than over-reliance on technology imports to achieve the industrial modernization, according to a blue paper issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) recently. The report was made upon CASS’s survey on the country’s 15 key industries. The result showed inadequate investment in self-innovation in China, which has held back the country from faster industrialization […]

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China Economics Information Technology Innovation Trend Watching

OCED on Innovation in China

OCED Observer is running a good piece this month assessing the state of innovation in China: ‘Part of China’s innovation stodginess reflects history: the Chinese R&D system has evolved from a Soviet-style mission approach, slowing the transition to a more market-led approach. Geography is also a factor, with many pockets of excellence living separate lives–more an archipelago than an interlinked whole. A glance at the map also reveals that the hot spots of innovation lie along the east coast. In bleak contrast stands the number of R&D facilities in the western and central provinces. Again, history comes in to play, since many of these sites were chosen during the Cold War because their remoteness from busy economic hubs was considered as a “third frontier” in defending Chinese intelligence…’

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China Economics Innovation

Intellectual Property: Introduction of China’s Intellectual Property Strategy

China has promulgated its own intellectual property strategy, which is aimed at promoting innovation and the use of new technologies by China’s industries. It’s hoped that via the implementation of the strategy, all innovations will be respected and more wealth will be created…