By Mariana Mazzucato and Anthony CostelloLONDON — An old Zen Buddhist saying cautions, “Do not mistake the finger pointing at the moon for the moon.” By focusing too much on the means, one can lose sight of the ends.

By Korinna Horta and Wawa WangLISBON/AARHUS — The Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) opened for business in 2016 and rapidly established itself as a major multilateral development institution.

By Oscar Jonsson and Taylor OwenMADRID/MONTREAL — Today, as our economic and social lives increasingly move online owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital and physical domains are becoming more integrated than ever.

By John Prendergast and Nathalia DukhanWASHINGTON, DC — The Central African Republic (CAR), a former French colony based on an exploitative divide-and-rule system, is a textbook example of how a state can be captured, repurposed, and organised for looting, largely to the ben

By Mo Ibrahim, Kevin Watkins and Mary RobinsonLONDON — With the global trading system under severe pressure, international cooperation to strengthen a rules-based order is vital.

By Lars Heikensten, Marcia McNutt and Johan RockströmSTOCKHOLM — The announcement of this year’s Nobel Prize laureates should remind us of the many contributions basic science has made to contemporary life.

By Mario Molina and Durwood ZaelkeSAN DIEGO — It is hard to imagine more devastating effects of climate change than the fires that have been raging in California, Oregon, and Washington, or the procession of hurricanes that have approached, and, at times, ravaged, the Gulf Coast.

By Erin Billman and Eva ZabeyGENEVA — The latest edition of the United Nations’ Global Biodiversity Outlook, published by the Convention on Biological Diversity, makes for bleak reading.

NEW HAVEN — With the departure of Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, one of the biggest questions facing his successor, Yoshihide Suga, is what to do about Abe’s signature economic-policy plan.To be sure, Suga, who long served as Abe’s chief Cabinet secretary, ha