This week’s 22 must-read stories

1. Four things not to do in an economic crisis. And one idea that could speed up the recovery.

2. Inequality is rising. Or is it? Another twist in the data debate, as an economist questions the “fundamental laws” of Piketty’s formula.

3. What does it mean to be a political artist? In our new podcast series, Iran’s Shirin Neshat talks about exile, revolution and taboo-breaking art.

4. Three steps to make Africa’s schools safer. One hundred days after the Chibok abductions, Hafsat Abiola-Costello says the outrage cannot be tackled in isolation.

5. Why has the US recovered faster than Europe? It’s easier for Americans to go bankrupt – then bounce back, says Daniel Gros.

6. Africa’s desert sun could power a fifth of Europe. If we crack the economics, the technology – and the politics.

7. Piketty is right. Rising inequality is our biggest challenge, and we shouldn’t let the data brouhaha distract us, says Kemal Derviş.

8. Does banning bad fat save lives? Economists digest the data on a controversial public health law.

9. Scotland and Catalonia. A right to secede? The EU has brought 28 countries closer together. And it might also help them to drift apart.

10. Why Swedish men take so much paternity leave. The Forum’s Gender Gap Report leads this analysis of a Nordic equality paragon. (The Economist)

11. Where are the women in India’s workforce? At the other end of the spectrum, this article highlighting the gender gap draws on Forum competitiveness data. (Quartz)

12. Why we need “agile servant leaders”. Gilbert Probst is interviewed about management in a complex world. (Student Reporter)

13. How will Turkey make a difference as head of the G20? This column looks ahead to our meeting in Turkey as it explores the country’s G20 role. (Hurriyet Daily News)

14. What’s behind the downing of Flight MH17? Five views on a game-changing tragedy. Two Ukrainian fighter jets are shot down. A plane crashes in Taiwan, and another disappears en route to Algeria.

15. The US job market is far from healed. So what new ideas could assuage the misery of unemployment?

16. Indonesia’s new president calls for unity. While his rival vows to contest the election result.

17. “Something is adrift in France.” A reporter for Der Spiegel follows the route of the Tour de France to find out what ails the country.

18. Not read The Machine Age yet? Here’s a free excerpt from a book which sings technology’s praises, without turning a blind eye to its pitfalls.

19. It takes more than two to tango. Jeffrey Frankel on the legal wrangling over Argentina’s debt.

20. Made it this far down the email? You’re doing well. Interruptions at work are rife, and they are even worse for you than you thought.

21. Sales shock for mocked crocs.

22. The externalities of hamburgers. 

Author: Adrian Monck is Managing Director of Public Engagement at the World Economic Forum, and Professor of Journalism at City University London.

Image: A girl reads in a classroom in Nigeria’s northern city of Kano July 21, 2012. REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye