Category Archives: Public Policy

Guest Post: COVID19 in Ulaanbaatar – Mass Testing and Risk Areas

Posted on April 2, 2021 by Julian Dierkes

By Paweł Szczap In mid-February 2021, a mass testing program for COVID-19 called Neg khaalga – Neg shinjilgee (One Door – One Test; below abbreviated as 1D1T), was implemented in Ulaanbaatar. It was undertaken in reaction to the gradual spread … Continue reading →

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Posted in Health, Paweł Szczap, Public Policy, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Ministers in Khurelsukh’s Cabinet

Posted on July 22, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes, Marissa Smith and Bulgan Batdorj Byambajav has already provided a brief introduction to the 16 ministers who have been appointed to PM Khurelsukhs post-2020-election cabinet. Since a number of them are not MPs and have not been … Continue reading →

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Posted in Education, Foreign Policy, Government, Health, Ikh Khural 2020, Infrastructure, Law, Military, Mining, Policy, Politics, Public Policy, Society and Culture, Tourism | Tagged | Leave a comment

Cabinet Observations

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes [I had begun writing this post on July 3, i.e. just before PM Khurelsukh’s cabinet was announced. While the speculation about appointments has been overtaken by that announcement, perhaps some of the thinking behind cabinet appointments will … Continue reading →

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Posted in Constitution, Government, Politics, Public Policy, Public Service | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Comparing Party Election Platforms: Economic Policy

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Ariuntuya Nominkhuu and Batbold Otgonbayar Parties’ platforms contain numerous promises to restore the economy and create new jobs by expanding the heavy industry sector. This year’s elections are taking place against the backdrop of the unforeseen economic crisis caused … Continue reading →

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Posted in Ariuntuya Nominkhuu, Banking, Batbold Otgonbayar, Business, Democratic Party, Diversification, Employment, Ikh Khural 2020, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Party Politics, Policy, Public Policy, Taxes | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Comparing Party Election Platforms on Mining Policy

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Ariuntuya Nominkhuu and Batbold Otgonbayar Right now we are living interesting pre-election days in Mongolia. Due to pandemic-related restrictions, the election with the largest number of candidates in the history of parliamentary elections of Mongolia or 606 people is … Continue reading →

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Posted in Ariuntuya Nominkhuu, Batbold Otgonbayar, Democratic Party, Erdenet, Ikh Khural 2020, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolian People's Party, National Labor Party, Oyu Tolgoi, Party Politics, Policy, Public Policy, Sovereign Wealth Fund | Leave a comment

Covering 2020 Election

Posted on May 24, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes Mongolia Focus is facing a challenge! In all likelihood, due to COVID-19, none of our core team will be able to travel to Mongolia for the campaign, nor for the election itself. Help us, dear readers, by … Continue reading →

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Posted in Author, City Planning, Democracy, eDemocracy, Elections, Foreign Policy, Ikh Khural 2020, Media and Press, Party Politics, Policy, Policy, Politics, Populism, Public Policy | Leave a comment

Guest Post: A BIT of Project Finance Arbitrage in Mongolia

Posted on April 1, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Kinnari Bhatt As Jennifer Lander observed last week, RIO is getting out the big guns. My new book – Concessionaires, Financiers and Communities: Implementing Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Land in Transnational Development Projects, shows how investors like RIO use … Continue reading →

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Posted in Canada, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Kinnari Bhatt, Law, Mining, Mining Governance, Mongolia and ..., Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Research on Mongolia, Taxes | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Investor-State Arbitration and Mongolia’s Rapidly Shrinking Policy Space

Posted on March 11, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Jennifer Lander On the 20th of February, Rio Tinto initiated arbitration proceedings against the Government of Mongolia at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) through Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The escalation of the dispute over the alleged … Continue reading →

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Posted in Economics, Foreign Investment, International Agreements, Jennifer Lander, Law, Mining, Mining, Mining Governance, Oyu Tolgoi, Oyu Tolgoi, Policy, Taxes, Trade | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Gender Mainstreaming in Public Administration

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Julian Dierkes

By Oyuntuya Shagdarsuren At a glance, Mongolia may seem like a ‘paradise for men’ given the high status of men or a ‘paradise for women’ given the country’s high rankings on human development indices. Yet, the gender equality situation remains … Continue reading →

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Posted in Gender, Oyuntuya Shagdarsuren, Public Policy, Public Service, Social Change, Social Issues | Leave a comment

Guest Post: Don’t Forget the Ground Game

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By David Chace You are in a rush for work, so you need to jog it. However, this means you need to beat the obstacle course outside. You need to weave through parked cars, ruts on the sidewalks and a … Continue reading →

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Posted in Change, City Planning, David Chace, eDemocracy, Governance, Public Policy, Social Change, Transportation, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Addressing Meat Prices through Policy not Populism

Posted on June 2, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes A very curious spectacle recently to see meat warehouses raided by the General Intelligence Agency. I have seen little discussion of the legality of such raids which look a bit like the action taken against a mining … Continue reading →

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Posted in Agriculture, Countryside, Diversification, Employment, Herding, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment

From Transparency to a Participatory Revolution

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes and Damdinnyam G [Mongolian Version: “МОНГОЛЧУУД: Ил тод байдлаас зѳв оролцооны хувьсгал руу…“] Even by the standards of Mongolian politics, the last two months have been eventful. Scandals, no confidence votes, demonstrations… one might think it’s an … Continue reading →

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Posted in Corruption, Damdinnyam Gongor, Law, Politics, Public Opinion, Social Change, Social Movements, Taxes | Tagged | Leave a comment

Guest Post: An “Alternate Economy” Run by Chieftains

Posted on November 10, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By B Naidalaa This article was originally published on Ikon.mn on Nov 7 2018 as “Монгол дахь УЛСТӨРИЙН корпорацийн АЖИЛЧДАД ХЭЛЭХ ҮГ” The term “informal economy” or “shadow economy” applies to a segment of the economy  that is not registered, … Continue reading →

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Posted in Badrakh Naidalaa, Business, Corruption, Diversification, Policy, Politics, Public Policy | Leave a comment

What are SMEs and the SME Fund?

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Marissa J. Smith Asking questions about the international politics of the Mongolian economy After reading the South China Morning Post article on the SME scandal, I decided to look more closely at the company profiled, Mongolian Charcoal. I soon … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Corruption, Development, International Cooperation Fund, Mongolia and ..., Public Policy, Research on Mongolia | Tagged | Leave a comment

Employment

Posted on August 30, 2018 by Julian Dierkes

By Julian Dierkes I have been encountering “unemployment” as a political challenge in Mongolia for many years. Most recently, in a set of six workshops on policy-making and political parties organized by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation Mongolia for the Mongolian People’s Party youth organization (НАМЗХ) and the Trade Union … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Countryside, Diversification, Economics, Employment, Policy, Public Policy | Tagged | Leave a comment