Understanding what motivates people has always been one of the central questions in education, management, psychology, and public life. Institutions may have strategies, technologies, and resources, but their long-term success still depends on a simple human reality: people act, learn, create, and cooperate for reasons that are often rooted in their needs. When those needs are understood well, organizations can design better workplaces, more effective learning environments, s

In a time of global uncertainty, investment decisions are becoming more complex and more demanding. Investors today do not only look for high returns. They also look for trust, predictability, innovation, legal clarity, and long-term value. In this context, Switzerland continues to attract serious attention. It is often seen as a country associated with quality, precision, stability, and global connectivity. Yet from an academic point of view, it is important not to rely only

In every period of economic change, investors ask the same basic question: where can long-term value be created in a stable and future-oriented way? This question is not only about money. It is also about timing, policy direction, economic structure, social confidence, and the ability of a place to transform growth into lasting opportunity. For this reason, Dubai remains one of the most interesting cities to study from an investment perspective after April 2026. Dubai has for

Gold remains one of the most discussed assets in times of uncertainty. Its appeal is not difficult to understand: it is durable, globally recognized, scarce, and not directly tied to the credit risk of any single private issuer. Recent market data also support the view that gold is not merely a state reserve instrument. At the end of 2025, central banks and other official institutions held about 18% of above-ground gold stocks, while much larger shares were held in jewellery,

One of the most persistent questions in political economy is whether a society can continue to grow economically while inequality deepens across income, wealth, education, and opportunity. The question is not only statistical. It is also moral, institutional, and practical. A country may report rising gross domestic product, expanding capital markets, and strong consumption figures, yet many households may still experience insecurity, limited mobility, and declining confidenc

Energy price shocks are among the most influential disturbances in modern economic life. They affect households, firms, governments, and international markets at the same time. Unlike many other price changes, shifts in energy prices spread quickly across sectors because energy is not a luxury input. It is a basic requirement for transportation, industry, food production, digital infrastructure, public services, and domestic life. When the price of oil, gas, electricity, or o

A common assumption in public debate is that a region with lower direct dependence on Middle Eastern energy should be less worried about conflict in the Gulf. At first glance, this view appears reasonable. If Europe imports a smaller share of its oil and gas from the Gulf than major Asian economies do, then Europe should, in theory, face less risk from instability in that region. Yet real-world policy behavior suggests otherwise. European governments, institutions, firms, and

The history of international politics repeatedly shows that public rhetoric and actual state behavior do not always move in the same direction. Governments speak in the language of identity, ideology, legitimacy, and moral principle, yet they often act through the language of survival, security, and material necessity. For students of international relations, this gap between discourse and practice is one of the most important realities to understand. It is especially visible

The publication of the QRNW Global Ranking of Transnational Universities (GRTU) 2027  invites a timely discussion about how higher education is changing in a world shaped by mobility, digital delivery, regulatory complexity, and international demand for flexible study pathways. According to QRNW’s own description, GRTU is a specialized ranking created to recognize universities that operate across multiple countries through integrated academic models rather than through a sing

For a long time, mainstream economic thinking was built on a useful but simplified idea: people act rationally. In this view, consumers compare options carefully, evaluate costs and benefits, and make decisions that maximize their welfare. This assumption helped economists build elegant models of markets, prices, competition, and exchange. It also made economic analysis more systematic. Yet real life often shows something more complex. People buy products they do not need, ig

Public debt has become one of the defining economic issues of the modern era. In many countries, governments have expanded borrowing to respond to financial crises, public health emergencies, military pressures, aging populations, climate-related risks, infrastructure gaps, and rising social expectations. Borrowing is not new, and it is not automatically harmful. In fact, public debt has often played a constructive role in state formation, social development, economic stabili

Globalization has long been one of the defining ideas of modern life. For several decades, it was often described as an unstoppable process through which goods, capital, knowledge, technologies, cultures, and people moved across borders with growing speed and intensity. In many academic and public discussions, globalization was presented almost as a single-direction historical force: markets would become more integrated, communication would become more global, and societies w

For many years, supply chains were often treated as a technical matter handled mainly by logistics managers, procurement teams, shipping companies, and manufacturers. They were important, but usually discussed in specialized business circles rather than in broad economic debate. That situation has changed. Today, supply chains are widely recognized as a central economic issue because they influence inflation, industrial performance, employment, investment, food availability,

Modern cities are engines of opportunity. They attract investment, talent, cultural activity, and innovation. They often offer better access to education, healthcare, infrastructure, and jobs than smaller towns or rural areas. Yet the same cities that promise mobility and prosperity also present one of the most difficult economic questions of our time: why has decent housing become so hard to afford for so many people? Housing affordability is no longer a narrow concern limit

Productivity growth has long been one of the central drivers of economic development, rising living standards, institutional capacity, and social progress. When societies become more productive, they are able to generate more value with the same or fewer inputs. This can improve incomes, support better public services, strengthen educational systems, and create wider opportunities for innovation. Yet in many economies, productivity growth has slowed over the last two decades,

Central banks occupy a unique position in modern economic life. They are expected to preserve price stability, protect financial systems, support confidence in money, and, in some cases, help sustain employment and growth. During periods of crisis, their visibility increases sharply. When inflation rises, people ask why central banks did not prevent it. When banks fail, markets freeze, or currencies weaken, many look to central banks for immediate rescue. In public debate, th

Inflation is often discussed as if it were a single national experience. Governments report one headline rate. Central banks respond to one broad price index. News coverage usually refers to “inflation” in the singular, as though households move through the same economic climate at the same pace and with the same level of difficulty. Yet everyday life suggests otherwise. Two families living in the same city, facing the same official inflation rate, can experience rising price

Academic institutions are no longer shaped only by local conditions. In recent decades, higher education has become increasingly international in its structures, expectations, partnerships, and ambitions. Universities, colleges, training institutes, and research centers now work across legal systems, cultural settings, languages, accreditation traditions, and labor markets. They establish branch campuses, build international partnerships, develop joint programs, recruit stude

Introduction In higher education, growth is often treated as a sign of success. Universities announce new campuses, more programs, larger student numbers, wider international partnerships, and broader digital platforms. In many cases, expansion can bring real benefits. It can improve access, diversify revenue, strengthen visibility, and increase institutional influence. Yet expansion, by itself, is not the same as progress. A university may become larger without becoming stro

The public version of the article can be accessed here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmed.2026.100365 https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105032403444 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666521226000232 Readers interested in the full journal publication are warmly invited to visit the link above and read the article in its published form. Public records indicate that the work is published in Intelligence-Based Medicine  in 2026 and is openly presented as p