It's tempting to call the shameful taxpayer subsidy for electric cars - vehicles that are unaffordable for all but a small number of wealthy Americans - this nation's costly little secret.

There's a persistent story that farming is on the edge of catastrophe in America and that's why they need safety nets that other people don't get. And the reality is that it's really a very healthy industry.

By trying to do too much, the disease-fighting Global Fund has run into problems. It is spending public funds in a way that is perverting the market for malaria drugs and could do more harm than good.

The malaria community has done a great job over the past decade to combat the disease. But this may be about to change.

The private sector can and should play an important role in public health, but it remains to be seen whether or not the benefits that have arisen from the AMFm could have been achieved through alternative mechanisms and potentially at lower cost.

Philip G. Pardey of the University of Minnesota will explain why investment in R&D is so important for increasing agricultural productivity and keeping food prices low.