Digital Archive....

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for Kizza Besigye, "passive resistance" is the shape of things to come Africa Works After he lost the election for Uganda president to Yoweri Museveni, Kizza Besigye and I sat together in his party's offices, discussing why, if the election was illegally stolen from him by his opponent's fraud, would not Besigye call his supporters to go into the streets and protest these violations? After all, Museveni, having begun his political career as a savior and redeemer of the "pearl of Africa," was now nakedly and brazenly imposing his autocratic decisions on a great and dignified African nation, which is also home to one of the most dynamic economies and societies in the sub-Saharan. I had come to Besigye's office that day warily, concerned that I was being followed by state security agents and anxious that they might burst into our meeting room at any moment. Disciplined and dedicated, Besigye spoke passionately about the importance o...

The new impact evaluation blog to read Chris Blattman Here you go . The authors are Berk Ozler, David McKenzie, Jed Friedman, and Markus Goldstein, in order of how good looking they are. (But yes, note that I did not tell you whether the order is ascending or descending.) They are some of my favorite development economists. The blog records their musings on many matters, from policy to field work to technical issues. Here is David on how to get a lot of learning out of a few firms , Berk on stuff you can't randomize , Jed on small sample studies , and Markus being less than encouraging . And there are guest bloggers. Here are the Deans of development (Karlan and Yang) advising students on  how to engage with an NGO . I was sadly unable to add to the guest blog, mainly because it is taking everything within my power not to post baby pictures three times a day. But see my earlier advice to students interested in quantitative field research in the...

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Child carers are the unsung heroes of Africa | Morten Skovdal Global development news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk African children who care for parents with Aids are not passive victims or burdens to their families. They are resourceful and play a key role in the response to the Aids epidemic Over the past decade, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have seen HIV incidence fall by more than 25%, and almost 40% of those eligible for treatment are now able to access life-saving medicines. However, despite this progress, millions of children throughout the region remain at the frontline, responding to the devastating impact of Aids by caring for the adults in their lives. Although there are no statistics to document the extent of young carers in sub-Saharan Africa, a growing body of research suggests that children living in households affected by Aids take on significant caring roles and responsibilities as their parents slowly succumb, or as their gran...

This will be the Arab world's next battle | Lester R Brown Global development news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk Population growth and water supply are on a collision course. Hunger is set to become the main issue Long after the political uprisings in the Middle East have subsided, many underlying challenges that are not now in the news will remain. Prominent among these are rapid population growth, spreading water shortages, and growing food insecurity. In some countries grain production is now falling as aquifers – underground water-bearing rocks – are depleted. After the Arab oil-export embargo of the 1970s, the Saudis realised that since they were heavily dependent on imported grain, they were vulnerable to a grain counter-embargo. Using oil-drilling technology, they tapped into an aquifer far below the desert to produce irrigated wheat. In a matter of years, Saudi Arabia was self-sufficient in its principal food staple. But aft...