The Economist (July 14)
“Throughout rural parts of South Asia and Africa…mini-grids are increasingly seen as one of the most promising ways of connecting the 1.1bn people in the world who still lack access to electricity.” According to the World Bank, this will also require “microfinance and vocational training” to help users make the best use of electrification.
Tags: Access, Africa, Electricity, Electrification, Microfinance, Mini-grids, Promising, Rural, South Asia, Vocational training, World Bank
US News & World Report (March 20)
Though large gaps exist between urban and rural populations, common perceptions, like “urban poverty,” are often rooted in misconception. In the U.S., poverty is actually “higher in rural areas…. In fact, levels of rural poverty were often double those in urban areas throughout the 1950s and 1960s.” In 2015, the gap had narrowed, but the poverty rate still stood at 16.7% of the rural population and 13.0% of the urban population.
Bloomberg (December 15)
“A surge in Tokyo’s elderly population over the next 10 years may overwhelm urban healthcare systems; while depopulation and stagnant economies in rural Japan are set to leave nursing homes and hospitals half-empty.” Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing “an audacious idea” of motivating urban elderly to relocate to Japan’s countryside.
Tags: Abe, Audacious, Countryside., Depopulation, Elderly, Healthcare, Hospitals, Japan, Nursing homes, Rural, Surge, Tokyo, Urban
