The McKinsey Week in Charts
Technology China: Betting big on quantum
September 13, 2022
Quantum technologies could be the key to resolving global issues from climate change to improving drug-delivery times. China has committed USD15.3 billion in public funds in quantum computing investments, which is more than double that of EU governments (USD7.2 billion) and eight times what the United States has pledged to spend (USD1.9 billion).
To read the article, see “Quantum computing funding remains strong, but talent gap raises concern,” June 15, 2022.
Global growth goals
Sustainability Economic Development
December 22, 2022Three interlocking goals—sustainability, inclusion, and growth—are critical for realising a better global future. Senior partners Kweilin Ellingrud, Sven Smit, and Jonathan Woetzel and coauthors explore the tensions and trade-offs that can accompany the efforts to achieve these goals. For example, G20 member countries with lower incomes emit less CO2 per capita than wealthier economies, but they also tend to show less-desirable outcomes on inclusion measurements.
To read the report, see “Toward a sustainable, inclusive, growing future: The role of business,” November 13, 2022.
As 2022 comes to a close, be sure to browse through our feature, “2022: The year in charts,” which illuminates many of the ways the world is striving toward sustainable, inclusive growth. Charting the Path to the Next Normal will go on a brief hiatus starting December 23, 2022 and will return January 3, 2023. In the meantime, check out “What just happened?,” for McKinsey Publishing’s month-by-month journey through 2022.
Sluggish spending
December 21, 2022
Real spending in the United States had been climbing since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. But then inflation rose, too, causing consumers to think twice before pulling out their credit cards this holiday season. Now, say senior partner Becca Coggins and coauthors, pessimistic consumer sentiment is among the factors leading to overall growth that is lower than during the prepandemic period.
To read the article, see “Hitting the mark: Why markdowns matter more than ever,” December 2, 2022.
Pediatricians are burning out
December 20, 2022
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect medical workers on every level, say senior partners Sarah Calkins Holloway and Ed Levine and coauthors. More than 60 % of pediatricians in our recent survey reported experiencing at least one dimension of burnout. According to one academic study on pediatric residents, doctors suffering from burnout were seven times more likely to make treatment errors and ten times more likely to ignore the social or personal impact of a child’s illness.
To read the article, see “Improving pediatrician well-being and career satisfaction,” September 15, 2022.
Follow the tech dollars
December 19, 2022
A look at where technology investment is going could provide a glimpse of what the future of business and society looks like. A recent paper by senior partner Sven Smit and coauthors points out 14 “transversal technologies”—technologies that spread across sectors—that, in some cases, are attracting tens or hundreds of billions of dollars of annual investment. Technologies including applied AI, bioengineering, and immersive-reality have seen double-digit investment growth rates.
To read the paper, see “On the cusp of a new era?” October 20, 2022.
Don’t just blame the beef
December 16, 2022
The environmental impact of meat and dairy receives a lot of media attention—for good reason. But the impact of food loss and waste too often goes undiscussed. Senior partners Clarisse Magnin and Björn Timelin and coauthors found that up to 40 % of the world’s food is lost or wasted every year. Fruits and vegetables, cereals, and roots and tubers account for most of the CO2 emissions and water use from this food loss.
To read the article, see “Reducing food loss: What grocery retailers and manufacturers can do,” September 7, 2022.
Investors get a kick out of e-scooters
October 12, 2022E-kickscooters got a jolt in investments in recent years. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, micromobility companies (those providing bicycles, mopeds, and e-kickscooters) in Asia, Europe, and North America captured nearly $4 billion in investments. The share of those investments going to e-kickscooters specifically jumped 50 percentage points from 2018 to 2022, McKinsey analysis suggests.
To read the post, see “How the pandemic has reshaped micromobility investments,” August 3, 2022.