Jan 04, 2012

More on the role of Women in Development

I just found this review paper by Esther Duflo that surveys research on how economic development affects the status of women and how the changing status of women affects economic development.

For the record, my priors, as I hope are documented in the conversation with Barbara, are:
* If your goal is economic development, focusing on women is likely a sub-optimal strategy.
* Rapid economic development may have a greater impact on women’s empowerment than a strategy focused on economically empowering women.

I’m looking forward to having those priors challenged.

Dec 09, 2011

Living with the Gates Foundation

Describing the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as the world’s largest foundation is accurate but a substantial understatement. Its annual giving is more than six times larger than its closest “peer.” There are fewer than 100 US foundations that give more than $50 million annually. The Gates Foundation gives $50 million per week.

But it’s not just the amount of giving that distinguishes the foundation. As Ed Skloot puts it, the foundation “differs from the institutional norm in almost every way: in size, ambition, high-level connections, proactivity, long-term commitment, operational engagement, and public leadership.” The Gates Foundation is treading new ground, changing expectations and the policy environment of philanthropy by its very existence.

If you find these questions vital and interesting, I’d invite you to join a webinar on Living with the Gates Foundation, hosted by Stanford Social Innovation Review next week.

Aug 26, 2011

A Debate on the Role of Microcredit in Supporting Women and Girls

Jul 13, 2011

Bad News for Cynics and Optimists: An Extended Interview with Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo

Whenever I read one of Banerjee’s and Duflo’s papers or talk with them I walk away with the exhilaration that only comes from (as the economist’s would say) changing my priors—in other words, I learn something and look at the world in a new way. That’s why I was so excited to spend more than an hour talking with them this spring after Poor Economics came out. We’re publishing a transcript of that extended interview in parts because it runs to over 6000 words in its entirety. 

Over the course of the interview we discuss microcredit, microenterprise funding and growth, labor markets in developing and developed countries, the evidence for focusing on women and girls with aid programs, the debate over RCTs and how they think about their own impact on changing the world.

Apr 26, 2011

Two New Books on Small Ways to Help the Poor: More Than Good Intentions and Poor Economics

Two new books from the world of development economics offer solid arguments for why all of us should care more about the small things than the big things: More Than Good Intentions, by Yale economist Dean Karlan and his co-writer Jacob Appel, and Poor Economics by MIT economists Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo.

Apr 25, 2011

Thinking Small

The next time you’re urged to “think big,” give thinking small a try. The world will be better for it.

Apr 15, 2011

Time for Microfinance to Reflect, But Not Too Much

Apr 14, 2011

Thoughts from Day One of Global Philanthropy Forum 2011

Apr 12, 2011

Experts Disagree on Foundation’s Role in International Development

A session on philanthropy’s role in global development asked some hard questions about what value foundations bring in a world where the majority of the world’s poor live in middle income countries with significant financial resources.

Apr 12, 2011

Musings on Social Media, Technology and Foundations