About Aid Watch
The Aid Watch blog is a project of New York University's Development Research Institute (DRI). This blog is principally written by William Easterly, author of "The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists' Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics" and "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good," and Professor of Economics at NYU. It is co-written by Laura Freschi and by occasional guest bloggers. Our work is based on the idea that more aid will reach the poor the more people are watching aid.
"Conscience is the inner voice that warns us somebody may be looking." - H.L. Mencken
Recent Comments
- Rukmini on Aid Watch blog ends; New work on development begins : This has been a valuable resource for me and I’m sorry to see it...
- Jesse on From Hell to Prosperity: I would like to see this graph with a comparative one which shows the number of people in each religion...
- Ellie on Aid Watch blog ends; New work on development begins : Sad to see you go, but I certainly respect the decision. Hope it is...
- Vivek Nemana on From Hell to Prosperity: Jeff, Well, the billionaire effect might explain a disproportionately high mean income, but...
- M on Aid Watch blog ends; New work on development begins : I agree that Bill and Laura should think about how they can get their message...
- Mr. Econotarian on Are Lax US Gun Laws Spilling Violence into Mexico? : The paper says: “DHS data gives the number of illegal...
Archives
Bill Easterly tweets
- RT @tkb: @meighanstone @bill_easterly @viewfromthecave Thanks from @worldbankdata team! http://t.co/aD4zp3Px & http://t.co/6APTLA7D ... about 6 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @meighanstone: @bill_easterly @WorldBank @viewfromthecave you should be singing praises of @tkb and his team then (upstart World Bank ... about 6 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
- Praise the @WorldBank! (for data visualization) http://t.co/ri7CvwdZ HT @viewfromthecave about 6 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @lustrefound: New idea for Sandel: Writers as public intellectuals replaced by economists. RIP Carlos Fuentes. http://t.co/Zkpq1Shj h ... about 9 hours ago from Twittelator ReplyRetweetFavorite
Aid Watch tweets
- RT @viewfromthecave Healthy Dose top story: UNDP to Africa, End Hunger to Ensure Growth http://t.co/6b1tghMg about 8 hours ago from web ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @bill_easterly Leonardo DiCaprio's coffee has a remarkable effect on development. We're just a bit fuzzy on how. http://t.co/ITkKtwVG 08:08:48 PM May 15, 2012 from TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite
- RT @NatalieNYT Study points to the complexities of giving & measuring the impact of charity http://t.co/zjZCCxth 06:25:03 PM May 15, 2012 from TweetDeck ReplyRetweetFavorite
- “Poverty: The audacity of hope” @TheEconomist describes an RCT by Esther Duflo http://t.co/ahFAljgc 05:23:35 PM May 15, 2012 from web ReplyRetweetFavorite
Monthly Archives: November 2010
The 100 Bestest Global Thinkers
The Foreign Policy magazine ranking of the top 100 Global Thinkers just came out. The rankings can be a bit mysterious, like college football rankings that confuse Texas Christian University with a real football team.
I myself had a two-year run in the top 100 for still unexplained reasons. Alas, a late-season loss to Collier State University doomed my chances this year. I wouldn’t mind as much if there were not way too many…
Posted in Badvocacy and celebs, Big ideas 12 Comments
Understanding India’s Microcredit Crisis
by David Roodman, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development
As Vivek Nemana reported here, the Indian microcredit industry has pitched into what appears to be a replay of the American subprime debacle. I just spent a week in India, talking to nearly everyone. I learned there were so many complexities—history, politics, institutional rivalries— that to just view events through the foreign lens of the subprime crisis is…actually about right.
The microcredit industry…
One problem with reports from large bureaucracies
Here is an NYT headline and a WSJ headline on the same Pentagon report last Tuesday. Reports produced in large bureaucracies have to interpret the “facts” so as to please competing interest groups within the bureaucracy, as I can testify from my World Bank experience. The result is usually a report with a very unclear message. If I was not feeling so lazy on a Sunday morning, I could cite a lot of…
Posted in In the news 12 Comments
The best address ever given to UN General Assembly
Best line: Ethnic cleansing? Talk to the hand!
(If you can’t see the video on the blog, the link is here.)
Posted in Satire and parodies 4 Comments
WHO: 20 to 40 percent of money spent on health wasted, more funds needed to be wasted
Health care systems worldwide are wasting up to 40 percent of their funds, but more money is needed to boost their capabilities, according to a new report from the World Health Organization.
In an analysis of how countries pay for health and what they get in return, the United Nations agency concluded that despite these losses even more funds need to be invested in health care.
This article by AP reporter Maria Cheng on the…
Posted in Global health, In the news 4 Comments
Aid Watch Thanksgiving Thanks
It’s not commonly known that the most skeptical and critical people usually have a strong sentimental streak…at least if I can extrapolate from introspection….
So here goes for what Aid Watch is sincerely thankful for:
For the largest reduction in world poverty in human history, which has already happened in our generation.
For the largest improvement in health and life expectancy in human history, which has already happened in our generation.
For all those who…
Posted in Uncategorized 6 Comments
Lennon vs. Bono
I watched last night a remarkable documentary on the life of John Lennon called “Imagine.” For my generation, it’s pretty much automatic that Lennon is our hero, and I am no different.
But then I thought, do I have a double standard? I criticize celebrity musicians today like Bono for taking on a role like “Africa expert,” because we would never put rock stars in charge of say, Federal Reserve Policy. Yet Lennon…
Posted in Badvocacy and celebs, Uncategorized 38 Comments
Fighting for Freedom of the Press in Ethiopia and AidBlogWorld
Had a fascinating lunch today with Dawit Kebede, the courageous editor of the only remaining independent newspaper in Addis Ababa. He is getting a 2010 International Press Freedom Award tonight in New York from the Committee to Protect Journalists. I hope he gets lots more recognition for what he’s doing to preserve a neutral, independent voice.
Thank goodness we have press freedom here at home…oops, Dennis Whittle points out we don’t. At least not for many aid…
Posted in Democracy and freedom 10 Comments
A Subprime Crisis for the Poorest?
Vivek Nemana is a graduate student in economics at New York University and works for DRI.
The impending collapse of the microfinance industry in Andhra Pradesh, one of India’s largest states and a major hub of microfinance, is the ultimate example of a silver aid bullet…not being a silver aid bullet at all. The New York Times reports:
India’s rapidly growing private microcredit industry faces imminent collapse as almost all borrowers in one of
…
QDDR: we can hardly contain our excitement
Aid Watch is as excited as everyone else to get a leaked, advance summary of the Quadrennial Development and Diplomacy Review, (HT Josh Rogin at Foreign Policy) which is a critical part of the US government process to set its priorities on Development.
We love to seize occasions where we can be more positive to reward positive things happening, and not be our usual snarky selves.
Today is not one of those occasions.
Some…