One of the first things I do most mornings is check-out Chris Blattman’s blog. He recently posted a very provocative entry on corruption, criticizing the emphasis that many international agencies place on it, calling it an “Anglo-American fetish.” Westerners care about corruption far out of proportion to its impact on poverty alleviation and economic growth. […] To be … [Read more...] about The tip of the Iceberg
What you see is (not) what you get
“Beauty makes princes of those who have it” Oscar Wilde Note: If after reading this blog, you still think that you would never discriminate, please take the test linked at the end of the post and surprise yourself In August, 2011, The Economist published one of those quirky and interesting articles that make most of us subscribers: The economics of good looks. The … [Read more...] about What you see is (not) what you get
The cost of inaction
I just finished reading The Cost of Inaction, Case Studies from Rwanda and Angola by Sudhir Anand and others. T he Foreword, by Amartya Sen, is worth the whole price-tag. According to Professor Sen this is a far-reaching book that goes well beyond the two case studies and its “modest title” and provides a good occasion to think about some foundational issues in the … [Read more...] about The cost of inaction
Cognition and cost-benefit analysis
More than ten years ago, Cass Sunstein wrote an article on how Cost Benefit analysis can be used to fight our cognitive biases and help unravel our misunderstanding of the facts. … [Read more...] about Cognition and cost-benefit analysis
The best investment
A few weeks ago, we published a short blog on the critical importance of early childhood development. A recent paper by James Heckman and Gabriella Conti explores the economics of child well-being that: … [Read more...] about The best investment