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The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It
25 May 2007-
TL;DR: In this paper, Collier pointed out the issues of corruption, political instability and resource management that lie at the root of the problem and proposed a new plan of action including a new agenda for the G8 which includes more effective anti-corruption measures, preferential trade policies and where necessary direct military intervention.
Abstract: Global poverty is falling rapidly, but in around fifty failing states, the world's poorest people face a tragedy that is growing inexorably worse This bottom billion live on less than a dollar a day and while the rest of the world moves steadily forward, this forgotten billion is left further and further behind with potentially serious consequences not only for them but for the stability of the rest of the world Why do the states these people live in defy all the attempts of the international aid community to help them? Why does nothing seem to make a difference? In The Bottom Billion, Paul Collier pinpoints the issues of corruption, political instability and resource management that lie at the root of the problem He describes the battle raging in these countries between corrupt leaders and would-be reformers and the factors such as civil war, dependence on the export of natural resources and lack of good governance that trap them into a downward spiral of economic and social decline Collier addresses the fact that conventional aid has been unable to tackle these problems and puts forward a radical new plan of action including a new agenda for the G8 which includes more effective anti-corruption measures, preferential trade policies and where necessary direct military intervention All of these initiatives are carefully designed to help the forgotten bottom billion, one of the key challenges facing the world in the twenty first century
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01 Apr 2009
TL;DR: Hulme as discussed by the authors uses different standpoints from science, economics, faith, psychology, communication, sociology, politics and development to explain why we disagree about climate change and shows that climate change, far from being simply an 'issue' or a 'threat', can act as a catalyst to revise our perception of our place in the world.
Abstract: Climate change is not 'a problem' waiting for 'a solution' It is an environmental, cultural and political phenomenon which is re-shaping the way we think about ourselves, our societies and humanity's place on Earth Drawing upon twenty-five years of professional work as an international climate change scientist and public commentator, Mike Hulme provides a unique insider's account of the emergence of this phenomenon and the diverse ways in which it is understood He uses different standpoints from science, economics, faith, psychology, communication, sociology, politics and development to explain why we disagree about climate change In this way he shows that climate change, far from being simply an 'issue' or a 'threat', can act as a catalyst to revise our perception of our place in the world Why We Disagree About Climate Change is an important contribution to the ongoing debate over climate change and its likely impact on our lives
1,691 citations
TL;DR: The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places as mentioned in this paper, which is a common refrain in the book "A Farewell to Arms" by Ernest Hemingway.
Abstract: Introduction The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places. (Ernest Hemingway, A Farewell to Arms, 1929) We live in challenging times with a heightened sense of uncer...
1,152 citations
University of Washington1, Harvard University2, University of the West Indies3, Stanford University4, GAVI Alliance5, World Health Organization6, University of California, San Francisco7, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation8, Peking University9, International Monetary Fund10, Columbia University11, Princeton University12, African Development Bank13, United States Agency for International Development14, Public Health Foundation of India15, Results for Development Institute16, University of Oslo17
TL;DR: A recent report by the Lancet Commission revisited the case for investment in health and developed a new investment framework to achieve dramatic health gains by 2035 as discussed by the authors, which is, a reduction in infectious, maternal, and child mortality down to universally low levels.
1,069 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the debates regarding place-neutral versus place-based policies for economic development are examined in the context of how development policy thinking on the part of both scholars and international organizations has evolved over several decades, and the cases of the developing world and the European Union are used as examples of how in this changing context development intervention should increasingly focus on efficiency and social inclusion at the expense of an emphasis on territorial convergence.
Abstract: The paper examines the debates regarding place-neutral versus place-based policies for economic development. The analysis is set in the context of how development policy thinking on the part of both scholars and international organizations has evolved over several decades. Many of the previously accepted arguments have been called into question by the impacts of globalization and a new response to these issues has emerged, a response both to these global changes and also to nonspatial development approaches. The debates are highlighted in the context of a series of major reports recently published on the topic. The cases of the developing world and the European Union are used as examples of how in this changing context development intervention should increasingly focus on efficiency and social inclusion at the expense of an emphasis on territorial convergence and how strategies should consider economic, social, political, and institutional diversity in order to maximize both the local and the aggregate potential for economic development.
992 citations
TL;DR: Here, low-cost opportunities to control the neglected tropical diseases through preventive chemotherapy are outlined, and financial innovations to provide poor individuals with essential drugs are proposed.
816 citations