Category Archives: Uncategorized

Willam Easterly, at Aid Watch, makes a very straightforward case for the need to build redundant substitutable elements into development project design. Like the way we build airplanes. See below for details. Via Aid Watch post: Substitutability: there is no … Continue reading →

By Laura Freschi @ Aid Watch In a new World Bank blog post (h/t @poverty_action), economist David McKenzie explains why he thinks facilitating international migration should be at the top of everyone’s list of effective development interventions. Compared to microfinance, … Continue reading →

William Easterly at AidWatch writes: Truman’s Inaugural Address on January 20, 1949 is usually taken as the beginning of foreign aid, after it included these stirring words: Fourth, we must embark on a bold new program for making the benefits … Continue reading →

EU deal threatens HIV drug supplies – Al Jazeera English The charity Medicins sans Frontieres (MSF) says that hidden clauses in the free trade agreeement (FTA) currently being negotiated between Europe and India will prevent the manufacture and distribution of … Continue reading →

Check out these neat ideas from the design world — from clay pot refrigeration to rolling water drums — aimed at improving livelihoods in the developing world! The Big Idea

In her recent talk at UBC and in her book “Dead Aid“,  Dambisa Moyo boldy states that: In the past fifty years, more than $1 trillion in development-related aid has been transferred from rich countries to Africa. Has this assistance … Continue reading →

In the first installment of an IDRN-exclusive interview series, Dr. Sergei Soares of Brazil’s Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA) answers questions on the colonial roots of Brazilian inequality, describes current policy experiments, and gives controversial insight on future trends … Continue reading →

As using economic terminology to reason about nature picks up steam, observers are beginning to ask if we’re mistaking the medium for the message (see ‘Treehugger’ article below). There is undoubtedly something inherently distasteful about reducing the natural world to … Continue reading →