Sergei Guriev

* Challenges but also benefits ahead, says latest EBRD Transition Report * Serbia should advance public sector reforms, privatisation and SOE restructuring, report says * Better access to finance for SMEs and transparent rules are key for progress

A revolution in global work patterns confronts the world with complex challenges but the threat of upheaval can be turned into an opportunity with the right policy responses, according to a new study from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Simeon Djankov, a former Bulgarian Finance Minister, has stepped down as rector of the New Economic School in Moscow (also known as the Russian School of Economics, RES), RBC Daily reports.

The business news outlet writes there is "mutual consent' about the move after Djankov has taken the office since 2013. Djankov is not leaving the Board of Directors of RES.

My March 9 column, where I summarized a paper which explains why some countries end up being controlled by their nation?s worst or least-qualified citizens, got a lot of comments from readers. Several asked me why incompetent politicians would not be voted out.