Solved!: How Other Countries Have Cracked the World's Biggest Problems and We Can Too

By Andrew Wear

Sometimes the solutions are closer than we think.

Denmark will reach 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2030. Iceland has topped gender equality rankings for a decade and counting. Singaporean students beat almost all others in maths and reading. South Koreans will soon live longer than anyone else on Earth. The US city of Boston, global epicentre of biotech, has the most innovative square mile on the planet.

How have these places and more achieved such remarkable success? Policy adviser Andrew Wear examines what has worked around the world and how we can apply the lessons at home, introducing us to inspiring community leaders, renowned authorities and visionary policymakers transforming the globe.

We don’t have to look far to tackle humanity’s most pressing concerns. Solved! is a much-needed dose of optimism in an atmosphere of doom and gloom, a toolkit for those seeking social change. Informative, accessible and revelatory, it shows the solutions exist – we just need to know where to find them.

Andrew Wear is a senior Australian public servant with degrees in politics, law, economics and public policy. A graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard Kennedy School and a Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, he is also a director of Ardoch Ltd, a children’s education charity. He is the author of Solved! and Recovery.

‘A terrific idea, brilliantly executed. This book deserves to spark a national conversation.’ —George Megalogenis, author of The Australian Moment

‘In a time of chaos, there are answers all around us if we take the time to look. Which is exactly what Wear does in this invaluable book.’ —Annabel Crabb, journalist and television host

‘Andrew Wear offers something valuable and rarely present in such a practical book about politics: determined optimism, and real hope.’ —Van Badham, Guardian columnist and social commentator

‘In a world of endless outrage, armchair critics and keyboard warriors, Solved! is that rarest of things: a book that actually offers solutions to the planet’s problems instead of just listing them. It is only by listening to positive arguments such as these that we will ever stand a chance of fixing the world’s problems.’ —Joe Hildebrand, co-host of talk show Studio Ten

• Language: English
• Publisher: Black Inc. Books
• Release date: Mar 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781743821039

Andrew Wear

Andrew Wear is a senior Australian public servant, who has worked for national, state and local governments. He has degrees in politics, law, economics and public policy, and is a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard Kennedy School. A Victorian Fellow of the Institute of Public Administration Australia, he is also a director of Ardoch Ltd, a children’s education charity.