The amiable Ms Ypsilanti, meanwhile, has begun to master policy and smarten up her speeches.

ECONOMIST: Germany's state elections

For example, when Gordon Brown, the shadow chancellor, could not immediately explain the details of Labour's plans for union recognition, voters were given a rare glimpse of Mr Brown, usually a master of policy, floundering.

ECONOMIST: The power of sleaze

The difficulty is that Mr Livingstone is both a masterful populist and, on policy, a master of ambiguity.

ECONOMIST: Mayor Ken

Clay Varney is an intern at the Center for Security Policy and a Master's candidate in International Security at the University of Denver.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Don't make the same mistake twice

Mason found support in 2006 at the University of Chicago, which granted him a scholarship toward a master's degree in public policy.

FORBES: Entrepreneurs

"Mexico ought to be producing more of its own gas, and eventually exporting it, " Mr. Lozoya, a lawyer and economist who got his master's degree in public policy at Harvard said.

WSJ: Mexico Sees Energy as Key to Reset Economy

Raised in suburban Long Island, Ruddy earned a master's degree in public policy from the London School of Economics, signed on as a journalist first at the New York Post, then as a national correspondent for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, owned by billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife.

FORBES: Media

Nob Akimoto is a policy analyst and part-time dungeon master.

FORBES: Game Design, Project Management And The Age of DLC

The combination of higher volumes of domestic oil and gas being pumped and the loosest monetary policy in history should make mid-stream master limited partnerships one of the safest bets for 2013.

FORBES: MLPs: The Ultimate Asset Class for 2013

The programme aims to send 200 students a year to take a year-long master's degree at Tsinghua - in subjects including public policy, international relations, economics and business, and engineering - from 2016.

BBC: Stephen Schwarzman unveils $300m China scholarship fund