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In well-run rich societies it’s something people take for granted: clean water out of a tap, rubbish collections and regular trains and buses. But the question is: Who does a better job of it? The public sector? Or the private? Professor Mildred Warner analysed a mountain of economic data, looking at how thousands of local governments supply water around the world.

The US and China seem to be making little headway on solving their economic disagreements. With me to offer his verdict on how to break the logjam is Economics professor Wing Thye Woo, who’s advised both the Chinese government and the US Treasury.

And a wake up call to business leaders in the Middle East, not to think that they can ignore the current turmoil there from one of the best known entrepreneurs in the region, Fadi Ghandour.

Illustration by Emily Kasriel: state and private hands fight over the soul of business in the midst of the Arab Spring.