Globalization has made the world a smaller, though not a less complicated, place. Social, political, economic, and scientific developments diffuse across borders faster than ever, with immense effects notwithstanding individual countries' idiosyncrasies. This phenomenon was intensified by the Great Recession that spread around the world following the financial crisis in the United States. The persistent effects of this recession have sparked mass demonstrations in many developed and developing countries, and have voiced calls for improved governance and income equality. The general topic of this special section fits in such a period of a paradigm change that was precipitated by the re-recognition that markets are not a panacea for all economic ills and reforming institutions of governance is a must for sustainable development. Institutional reforms, as with any forms of technological change, however, have costs and benefits that are not distributed evenly across economic agents and generations. Reforming governance to deliver equity, therefore, stands as a great challenge facing societies in the coming decades.
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