Ethics
Diane Coyle talks on the latest edition of Development Drums about her book The Economics of Enough
My guest in the latest Development Drums podcast is the moral philosopher Toby Ord.Toby has made a commitment to give away the majority of his lifetime income to charities working in the poorest countries.
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This Doonesbury cartoon is causing some American newspapers either not to run the series, or to move them to the op-ed pages.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner… Continue reading
I suspect most people in Britain think that detention without trial is a problem limited to dodgy dictatorships and Guantanamo Bay. In fact more than 3,000 people are being held in prison in Britain on the basis that… Continue reading
Ravi Kanbur has written an interesting paper (pdf) about how he feels as someone who makes a good living from analysing and writing about poverty. Here is an extract, but it is worth reading the whole, thoughtful piece:
What is… Continue reading
When Google decided to set up a censored version of its search engine in China in 2006, I was among those who criticised the company for its decision (here and here).
As well thiking it was the wrong… Continue reading
Martin Wolf in the Financial Times says he is calling for “a debate” about immigration but his article is, in truth, a thinly-veiled diatribe against immigration on the grounds that it harms the economy, the environment and society.
The most… Continue reading
I’ve just watched Steve Jobs at the Apple event today. I was glad he paid tribute to the man whose liver he received, and that he called on others to register as organ donors.
But it is less impressive… Continue reading
The New York Times describes what happens if women do not have access to safe abortions:
Worldwide, there are 19 million unsafe abortions a year, and they kill 70,000 women (accounting for 13 percent of maternal deaths), mostly in poor… Continue reading
while Ms. Palin is perfectly entitled to believe that evolution is a myth, that women should be barred from choosing to have abortions, and that global warming has yet to be proven, these views all run counter… Continue reading
I’ve just heard Jack Straw tell the Today programme that one of Mr Blair’s great successes was to persuade the United States at Gleneagles to increase aid to Africa.
The transcript of the briefing by US officials on Air Force… Continue reading
Two weeks in Club La Santa in Lanzarote. Feeling fitter, more tanned, and (oddly) a little heavier than when we left.
From the Adam Smith Institute.
Brilliant. I've asked for some.
Hat tip: Tim.
Update: they arrived. Proving that even if there is no such thing as a free lunch, there is such a thing as a free wristband.
Much of the literature about the effectiveness (or otherwise) of aid revolves around whether aid accelerates economic growth.
But there is another purpose to giving aid: to redistribute income and consumption from rich to poor. If aid is taken from… Continue reading
From the Center for Global Development website:
Donor countries have committed themselves to increase aid to developing countries by 60 percent over the next five years; and larger increases would be needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals. But there… Continue reading
The US Congress is currently discussing an issue which sounds rather technical and dull but which could have profound implications for the future of the internet. If you care about whether the internet remains innovative, vibrant and open you should pay attention to the obscure-sounding question of net neutrality.
The issue is simple: should internet service providers be under an obligation to carry all network traffic without discrimination? Those in favour of net neutrality say that such a requirement is needed to protect the open, innovative nature of the net. Those against net neutrality say that market forces will ensure continued innovation and that legislating this requirement will stifle investment in new broadband services.
I have got a blog post up at the Center for Global Development blog, Views from the Center, saying that we have got a long way to go.
It is irritating to see opponents of abortion seeking to restrict abortion by opportunistically using arguments which they think are superficially persuasive but which bear no relationship to their real views and which they know to be irrelevant.
There are… Continue reading
I have been a vegetarian since I was a teenager, and I wear plastic rather than leather shoes. I do this because I believe that animals have a rights, and that it is wrong to kill animals simply for pleasure.… Continue reading
Owen Barder is the Europe Director at the Center for Global Development. He writes here about development, economics, politics, computers, running, and anything else that interests him. He also hosts Development Drums.
Tax, trade, transparency … & turfApril 23, 2013
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For the first time ever (World Bank edition)April 19, 2013
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The Europe Development DigestApril 16, 2013
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Are rich countries ‘getting away with murder’ by massaging aid figures?April 11, 2013
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Global wealth inequalityApril 8, 2013
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Waste not, want notApril 1, 2013
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Hello Owen, Stumbled on your website by accident…I’m currently trying to arange a visa for someone I work...May 16, 2013
Dear Biniam, Please refere to the following link. http://www.ethiotelecom.et/new s/news.php?id=85April 25, 2013
Hi all, I have the expereiance that blackberry phones will not work directly with the Ethio-telecom GPRS...April 25, 2013
Hi! The service provider in Ethiopia, Ethio – Telecom states the APN settings are the following: APN : etc.com...April 9, 2013
Interesting ideas, I wrote some thoughts on them here,April 24, 2013
”Today for the first time ever, I felt so relieved after I realized I wasn’t looking out making...April 19, 2013
Barack Obama (2/2013): “So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in...April 19, 2013
Owen: Where are we going with this? Is this a refutation of the power law of wealth distribution?April 10, 2013
Hey Abita check out my website as I may need a guide like you to help me run bike tours there, we just did...April 5, 2013
Hey Jeff enjoy the riding there–I have run several bike tours there out of Toronto and I love riding...April 5, 2013
Hi guys I totally disagree with your assessment of the children. I have ridden from Adiss to Lalibela 5...April 5, 2013
Hi Owen The long format works well for me because (like Robb) I enjoy getting into the substance and...April 1, 2013