Short cuts (XVII)

Back with some short cuts...

1. Research about private aid is very scarce. this interesting article titled Uncharted Territories by a friend in the Netherlands is an exception. It analyses how NGODs geographically allocate the money they spend. According to a new database specifically built for these research, they show that although "non-governmental development organizations are expected to focus on countries with poor governance, new evidence shows that they do not. While they do tend to focus more than bilateral donors on poor countries, they make some curious geographical choices. It seems that they too have their ‘donor darlings’. It seems that "the more an organization depends financially on its official donor, the greater is the correlation between their choices of countries". Very useful for those working in non-governmental organisations or bilateral agencies!

2. I have been playing with this interesting website developed by the Inter-AmericanDevelopment Bank that gathers very useful information on governance, social and economic conditions, etc... in a very user-friendly way. It is called Datagob.

3. Krugman on Milton Friedman... an interesting approach to one of the most influential and polemic figures in the economics and the political economy of the past century. Latin America was one the most important playing fields for his acolytes!

Short Cuts (XVI)

After a few days of holidays, shortcuts are back!

1. The magazine Foreign Policy and The Fund for Peace have released the latest edition of the Failed States Index. The whole article can be found here. As everybody should expect, African countries lead the ranking.

2. An interesting article from the NY Times sum up the main important trends in economics teaching nowadays (thanks David for illuminating us!). I really like these two quotes:

1. Economists can’t pretend that the consensus for free markets and free trade that existed 30 years ago is still here (from Robert B.Reich @ Berkeley)
2. I fall into the methods of the mainstream, but not the faith (from Rodrik, referring to mainstream econ)

3. Last Wednesday I saw part of the movie "The Corporation" on tv. You can watch it on youtube. Even though I agreed with some of the comments, I thought it was somehow biased. I was especially concern about the comments on the (in)famous water war of Cochabamba. I came across this interesting article from the IADB about the issue a few years after. It somehow summarises my thoughts on the issue.

Short Cuts (XV)

Brief ideas to think about during the weekend, short cuts to things happening around the world...

1. The giant, even more giant. According to the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency China has become the world champion in CO2 emissions:

In 2006 global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use increased by about 2.6%, which is less than the 3.3% increase in 2005. The 2.6% increase is mainly due to a 4.5% increase in global coal consumption, of which China contributed more than two-third. China’s 2006 CO2 emissions surpassed those of the USA by 8%. This includes CO2 emissions from industrial processes (cement production). With this, China tops the list of CO2 emitting countries for the first time. In 2005, CO2 emissions of China were still 2% below those of the USA. These figures are based on a preliminary estimate by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP), using recently published BP (British Petroleum) energy data and cement production data. In the 1990-2006 period global fossil-fuel related CO2 emissions increased over 35%.

Is China currently eating its future?

2. The Clinton Foundation strikes back! This new initiative, named the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative (CGSGI) is founded by philantropists from North and South America and according to Clinton:

"This initiative will focus on improving living conditions in Latin American countries and other nations, in partnership with the mining industry and other sectors. Ultimately, our goal is to bridge the gap between the rich and poor, and give all people a shot at a better life.”

At first sight, good news as competition in the "development market" increases. On the other hand, all these initiatives too often lack the necessary transparency to work properly!

3. Fifteen commandments every development economist should bear always in mind... according to Rodrik and YounotSneaky!. The one I like most is the first one:

1. The answer to most questions in economics is usually “It depends”.

4. The always great band "Beastie Boys" are back with a new LP... have a look at their new video in their home page... Yes, it's instrumental, something I admired when I first came across with "ill communication", another great LP.

Short Cuts (XIV)

Friday's shortcuts from the oven...

1. A new index has been created to rank nations of the world according to their peacefulness. It is called Global Peace Index and Sustainability. It doesn´t seem to be very correlated to GDP! We'll check it out next week. Click on the map to enlarge it! quite interesting.

2. Did you know that Florida has the same GDP as South Korea and New Jersey's economy is like Russia? Have a look at how the map of US would be if were supplanting states for countries around the world here! Via strangemaps!

3. Politics inaction! the G8 summit celebrated in Heiligendamm (Germany) ended past week... have a look at the summit declaration... very vague and according to past commitments not reached, I don't think this one will be different... why is it so difficult to commit in serious stuff concerning Africa? Getting back to the basics, that is, reading Mancur Olson's The Logic of Collective Action may help us to understand why! (for those not interested in reading the whole book, here is a good summary of the main thesis!)

4. The young and fragile democracy of Palestine seems to be collapsing. Very bad news for Middle East stability...

Short Cuts (XIII)

I've recently become quite lazy updating the blog... too many unuseful things in the head! But here you have more links to some important news in the world!

1. The climate change debate becomes more and more interesting (=confusing) everyday. Via Xavier Sala-i-Marti's homepage I came across this interesting documentary about the issue. It confronts directly Al Gore's thesis.

2. ICTs very well used! Amnesty International is using satellite images to follow all those lost villages in Darfur under threat. in this website Eyes on Darfur, you can follow what's going on!

3. There is a pretty interesting discussion going on on the net about the suitability of neoclassical economics. It all started with this article: Hip Heterodoxy.

Short Cuts (XII)

More short cuts to the news for the weekend. Some are good, others not! like life I guess!

1. Keneth Sokoloff passed away this week. Every scholar and researcher interested in Latin America, and more concretely, interested in why the region is where it is right now, should read some of his articles. He gives interesting ideas about all of these. Especially this ((gated though!):

Engerman, S. L. y K. L. Sokoloff. 1997. “Factor Endowments, Institutions and Differential Paths of Growth Among New World Economies: A View From Economic Historians of the United States”

2. When we were at the university and we read a lot of things about people we never saw, like Stiglitz, Lucas, North,... and many others it was quite disappointing! I always wondered how they looked alike. I even remember asking one friend who was heading towards the university of Chicago to send me pictures of some of them. Internet helped me with this! Now you can also see them moving! Wanna see Acemoglu talking about the rise and fall of nations?

3. Music suggestion: for those of you who love 70's R'N'R -ac/dc (with Bon Scott, of course), Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath- then you should listen to this Australian power trio "Wolfmother". This saturday they play in Barcelona. I was really tired of listening to death bands!

Short Cuts (XI)

Those involved in the invasion of Iraq seem to be falling! Some short cuts to the info in the net to enjoy during the weekend:

1. Time waits for no one and it won't wait for Wolfowitz! He quits! An interesting chance for the Bank to make important changes within. Interesting people talking about the Wolfowitz's affair (longer than a Brazilian soap opera). Nancy Birdsall, for example, asks herself which kind of World Bank we need. Dani Rodrik asks for candidates in his blog. And remember, it HAS to have US nationality! UPDATE: the Center for Global Development has released an interesting online survey to gather opinions from the development community about the selection process and the qualifications the candidate should meet to replace Wolfotwitz.

2. A recent report released by the Servicio de Estudios del BBVA analysing the economic impact of the Free Trade Agreement between Peru and the USA.

3. Everybody interested in LATAM should follow this interesting blog promoted by Nouriel Roubini. They have started with an interesting question about whether the actual economic success in the region is due to external conditions or good policies promoted within. Leaving aside the important differences existing among the different countries in the region (Hirschman would be very angry, though!) and without doing the appropriate analysis case-by-case, I think it is still too soon to have your say, but certainly the hike in prices of natural resources in international markets is playing a crucial role! Unfortunately, I'm not so sure about the crucial role of policies and initiatives promoted within the countries!

Short Cuts (X)

More shortcuts (a few days later, though)...

1. Pretty good news last week! Bill Clinton (well, his foundation) has reached to an important agreement with some indian chemical firms to reduce the price for second line AIDS treatment in developing countries. Here you can find three interesting articles analyzing the impact of AIDS in developing countries. My question is... Why couldn't WHO or UNAIDS reach to this agreement before? My answer is... doing business with ex presidents from the US you get much more public awareness (signalling theory!)

2. A couple of friends flied last sunday to Zimbabwe, Tod Moss from CDG talks here about what to do in the country.

3. Why meddling children in the Palestinian cause with rage and fury? This footage, from Hamas tv station and addressed to infants, makes me really sad. Certainly, promoting these mental models is not the best way to enhance the appearance of individuals looking for peaceful solutions to the disastrous situation in the region. Instead of that, maybe they should teach the historical pact subscribed past week to bring peace back to Northern Ireland.

Short Cuts (IX)

Short cuts to interesting stuff in the www. Nice weekend!

1. Last 3rd of May it was World Press Freedom Day! Reporters without borders publish an interesting list of predators of press freedom. In this short piece Amartya Sen shows some of the positive consequences of having an independent media.

2. According to a recent report made by the World Economic Forum, the climate change, the political instability and the persistent and high levels of inequality are the most important obstacles for maintaining economic growth in Latin America.

3. There are two cartoonists I follow. One is El Roto, from EL PAIS, and the other is KAL, from The Economist. It is amazing how they depict our world!

Short Cuts (VIII)

Time waits for no one, week comes to an end and here you have more short readings for the weekend:

1. 70 years ago, on April 26th of 1937, the Condor Legion, then commanded by Hitler, indiscriminately bombed a small town in the Basque Country called Gernika with the approval of Franco. It was the first time civilians were the main target of military actions... the horrible scenes led Picasso to paint one of his most famous paintings (in the picture).

2. Watch out if you drive in Africa! According to the latest WHO report entitled Youth and safety:

Africa's roads are by far the world's most dangerous with more than 24 in
every 100,000 of the continent's population dying on them annually

So, now we can say that investing in infrastructure not only promotes economic growth but also implies important savings in terms of lives!

3. In this short piece from The Washington Post Bill Easterly offers his views on the actual situation of the World Bank. According to him, the Wolfowitz's affair is just only another problem to add to the structural ones. It's worth a reading!

4. Boris Yeltsin died this week. He was in command of Russia while the "dark" processes of privatisation took place. Stiglitz wrote a lot about this issue in his Globalization and its Discontents.

5. Yes... Rodrik has recently set up his own blog!

Short cuts (VII)

Here we go again with some more short cuts to get the good but dispersed information and events around the world!

1. I certainly do not believe that being able to "almost freely" buy an automatic gun is the main reason for last week tragedy in Virginia University. In these and in other horrible experiences in the past, other reasons might have played an important and deeper role. Elements such as social cohesion, the feeling of being considered part of a family, a community, a project; increasing individualism in society,... and many others come to my mind. Societies, everywhere in the world can create disappointed individuals, but I'm completely sure that restricting the access to weapons would avoid "unregrettable" consequences. Here is an interesting debate on the issue!

2. A great classic on the East Asian Miracle and the WC, by Paul krugman: Dutch Tulips and Emerging Markets

3. ODA from developed towards developing countries fell during last year. DAC provides the official info. If we consider the different types and conditions of aid under the umbrella of these overall figures reality would be even worse... but again, the debate should move from quantity towards quality!

Short Cuts (VI)

The weekend is back... and with it, more short cuts:

1. For those interested in clear cut data on development issues, you should have a look at these interesting maps developed by the World Bank.

2. Wanna check what happened (is happening) in Darfur? Interesting ICT applications towards the fight against atrocities against human being! Follow this link.

3. The vital signs of Latam according to the Mackinsey Quarterly: simple, but with the main important ideas on the region (subscription required! it's worth it, though!) Maybe one should complement this information with the recently aired Statistical yearbook for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2006. Some things seem to be working in the region: poverty is decreasing, inflation remains low, growth remains stable, public finances in order..., how sustainable is this positive evolution? how much of this can be explained by external factors such as the increasing demand of natural resources present in the region?

3. Bad news for Wolfowitz's war against corruption. He seems to be the first one in not reaching his own predicaments... how can you fight corruption if you are seen as a nepotist?

Short Cuts (V)

A longer list of short cuts as I expect not to be connected to the Internet until next week. The reason, spring break!, which in Spain means: scary people looking like old fashioned KKK supporters rallying in the streets.

Much more interesting stuff in the following links:

1. Always wanted to study at the MIT but not smart enough? now you can! A really interesting initiative... is the MIT doing some type of "educational dumping" or is it too confident on signal theories?

2. Ever wondered about the meaning of certain songs? then you should visit this web. And about the relationship between song lyrics and economics? then look at this blog, via marginalrevolution.

3. From aggressive marketing to soft marketing... or from hard power to soft power, this is what the US should have to be doing. At least this is what Bou thinks after reading Nye's "The paradox of American Power"!

4. Jokes about economists and economics. I like this one:

A physicist, a chemist and an economist are stranded on an island, with nothing to eat. A can of soup washes ashore. The physicist says, "Lets smash the can open with a rock." The chemist says, "Lets build a fire and heat the can first." The economist says, "Lets assume that we have a can-opener..."

Paul Samuelson

5. Some youtube rarities... learning philosophy with the Monty Python.

Short cuts (IV)

More short readings:

1. Two different readings from Nancy Birdsall at the Center for Global Development (CGD). The first one, Do No Harm: Aid, Weak Institutions, and the Missing Middle in Africa, emphasises the impact the "missing middle" has on the prospects for development in Africa and what international donors can do to help bolster the middle-income population. The other one, Inequality Matters: Why Globalization Doesn't Lift All Boats, analyses the different impact inequality has had in the way towards development of East Asia and LATAM.

Eventhough it is too much focused in the USA reality, everybody should join the interesting newsletter offered by the CGD... interesting people and interesting ideas on how to change the dramatic situation in LDCs.

2. Professor Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee, from MIT, talks in this piece Inside the Machine: toward a new development economics about the changes in development economics theory.

3. Moving towards a different sector? from a coffee company towards a music company, an interesting decision, at least this is what Starbucks seems to be doing. (Once you have a captive market you can try other things with all these cutomers...)

4. A friend is working for UNAIDS in Bangkok. She is one of the few who do not face too many problems to get into Myanmar (previously known as Birmania). She told me that it is an amazing and very beautiful country. Unfortunately, this beauty seems to be positively correlated to the lack of civil and political rights. Did you know that they have built a new capital? Naypyidaw (forget about Rangoon!)

Short cuts (III)

Another wave of short readings for the weekend:

1. On the issues of climate change it's becoming harder to determine what is a good or a bad policy. In this interesting short piece, it is argued that building a Toyota Prius takes more combined energy than a Hummer (thanks Joan Oriol for the notice!).

2. Trouble and instability is back in DR. Congo! To keep informed: http://allafrica.com/

3. An interesting piece about the economic inefficiencies derived from the activities of lobbies. It concludes:

The upshot is that the reassuring theoretical result that lobbying is efficient is only valid in highly restrictive situations. In general, the existence of lobbying is highly likely to create economic inefficiencies – a result with implications for the design of political systems, including governance and campaign finance reforms in developing countries. Those inefficiencies are likely to favor less economically productive groups (such as lagging sectors or regions), at the expense of more productive ones. And in societies where there is mobility, and wealth depends more on one’s own productivity than on inherited privilege, there should be no presumption that lobbying need necessarily benefit the rich. Under those circumstances, populist distortions are even more likely.

One can complement this short piece with a recent comment appearing in The Economist about the American-Jewish lobby in the US... It is interesting how US politics work!

Short cuts... (II)

Here you have some short cuts for the weekend:

1. Really interesting discussion on democracy and economic performance with Ed Glaeser and K. Daron Acemoglu.

2. Mugabe strikes back! Things are getting hotter in Zimbabwe.

3. Another cruel reality from the blogosphere. From the violently harassed Iraq, a blog written by Saad Eskander, Director of the Iraq National Library and Archive.