We ask how the war in Ukraine is likely to affect the green energy transition and its changing resource requirements in the longer term, given the resource endowments of Russia and Ukraine. We argue that the invasion of Ukraine complicates Europe’s green energy transition in the short term and may result in a new form of dependency on Russia, if Russia annexes Ukraine or installs a sympathetic government. The worldwide transition to green energy will disturb existing power relations and geopolitical equilibria and may be associated with rising geopolitical tensions with this war being a potential forebearer of what lies ahead.

How did Starbucks grow from its origins as a purveyor of roasted coffee beans to its ubiquitous presence, in a few decades, as the leading global coffee chain? What are the business and economics principles of its phenomenal growth? The firm’s rise rests on the mantra and guiding belief that doing good is good for business, as this promotes trust (an emerging economic concept) in the Starbucks brand. Drawing from practice-based observations made over many years, and accompanying analysis, we sketch the ten pillars of Starbucks’s impressive success. Finally, this article delineates the linkages to behavioural economics.

In this article, the central question addressed is: does the business environment entail a complex nexus of political economy and other factors (government, business, ideology, and leadership) that may or may not manifest convergence? Also, the role of metrics and data is appropriately discussed. Current theories fail to impart an understanding of what the nature of the business environment is, or of the multifaceted nexus and convergence (or divergence) that it may entail. The strength of convergence involved is directly related to the integrity of the business environment and also reflects the overall dynamics in the country of focus. Each of the three country cases examined is fundamentally different, but offers important lessons. The overarching conclusion is that political economy and convergence often play a critical role in the business environment—though certainly not always, as in South Africa, where there is divergence, and in the case of metrics and data on the business environment, which, by design, do not focus on convergence.

A comprehensive treatise on inequality from economic, social, business and metrics/data perspectives is lacking in the literature and this treatise fills that void. We posit that: (a) neoclassical economics has failed to address inequality within nations; (b) the social theories on inequality are of ancillary importance; (c) businesses have contributed to inequality in several ways but have also made a positive contribution towards a fairer, more equitable society; (d) data on inequality is not up to date. Taxation and social programs offer an inadequate approach to tackling inequality without a proper framework and supporting approaches. In addition, complementarity between neoclassical economics and behavioural economics would be a positive factor in addressing inequality and should be pursued. Issues of inequality metrics and data reliability have moved to the forefront of discussions as the data currently available is the basis of much dissent. Robust metrics and reliable and up to date inequality data (as well as related statistics) are indispensable for designing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating inequality interventions and policies.