Philanthropy Action

Category: Asia

There are 20 entries in this category.

Apr 16, 2008

Global Food Inflation: What Can Be Done?

Rapidly rising food prices around the world are capturing front page headlines daily. The problems in the agricultural sector of been decades in the making and will take several years to fix.The biggest danger is that in the rush to short-term fixes, we’ll simply create more distortions that don’t deal with the real issues and make future food crises even worse.

Apr 11, 2008

Cash Is More Addictive than Nicotine

Economists from Innovations for Poverty Action and the World Bank have found that money might be the most powerful tool to help smokers quit.

Apr 07, 2008

Grim News From Afghanistan

Poppy cultivation and wasted foreign aid are like twin sisters perpetuating the cycle of poverty within Afghanistan.

Mar 14, 2008

Legalization and Criminalization of Illicit Trade

Experts in a variety of fields passionately debate how to combat illicit trade in everything from drugs to endangered species to, worst of all, people. There are rational, credible arguments for both criminalizing and aggressively prosecuting those engaged in illicit trade and for legalizing and regulating the trade.

Sep 27, 2007

An Opportunity in Burma?

If Burma’s nascent ‘saffron revolution’ can ultimately lead to the ouster of the military junta which has ruled for more than 40 years, there will be a tremendous opportunity for international philanthropy. 

Jun 25, 2007

Tolerance a Boon to Slavery

While poverty is certainly one of the main factors driving the persistence of slavery it is by no means the only one. In fact, while India and China have succeeded spectacularly at reducing poverty, slavery persists and is quite possibly growing. At root is a tolerance for slavery, whether from corrupt government officials, cultural apologists or passive business partners. 

Jun 08, 2007

The Role of Cell Phones in Poverty Alleviation

The fishing industry in Northern Kerala in the south of India, as reported in The Economist, has become an example of how simple tools of information exchange can transform a local industry.

May 02, 2007

How Do You Empower Women?

Some recent efforts focused on empowering women have in fact had the opposite effect.

Mar 28, 2007

TB Rates Decline, But XDR-TB Lurks in the Wings

The World Health Organization has announced that worldwide tuberculosis cases as a percentage of the population held steady in 2006. Yet more cases of tuberculosis are identified as extensively drug-resistent (XDR-TB).

Feb 20, 2007

How the Poor Live

A recent study conducted by the MIT Poverty Action Lab reveals surprising data about how the poor earn, spend, borrow and invest. The study should be required reading for anyone looking at ways to effectively invest in reducing poverty.

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