Who gets the Last Seat on the Plane? Why Aid Hates Economics
Not long ago, I was returning home from a trip when the airline bumped me from my flight due to overbooking. The airline rep was very sympathetic, but I didn’t want her sympathy, I wanted A Seat On the...
View ArticleLincoln’s Birthday Valentine’s Day Declaration: I ♥ Democracy
Democracy doesn’t attract as much love as it deserves in aid and development circles.Many wonder if benevolent autocrats might be better for development than messy elections, even though there is no...
View ArticleDo what you’re actually good at? or what you should be good at?
We have just finished the annual ritual in which Hollywood pretends that its job description is making quality indie movies, instead of what it is actually good at — producing crowd-pleasing...
View ArticleMiracles of spontaneous order: where to get a cab around NYU
The New York Times has this wonderful interactive feature today, where you can see where most cab pickups and dropoffs happen at any time of day on any day. It confirms a puzzling feature that I had...
View ArticleHow skill beats luck in the World Cup of Development
This blog periodically points out the role of randomness in development, much to the frustration of many readers. This post is how to set things up so that skill triumphs over luck.Today’s official...
View ArticleWhat aid critics could learn from movie critics
The Wall Street Journal yesterday had an article on “2010: worst movie year ever?”. Movie critics have a way with words that leaves us aid critics in the dust.Hollywood is fighting a war on numerous...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....