Digital Archive....

Leading in a Hyperconnected World SSIR Opinion & Analysis With the rise of new digital media platforms and social networks, people are absorbing information at a greater velocity and from a wider set of channels than ever before; they are also using that information in new ways. Anyone with an Internet connection or cell phone can share their ideas, influence public opinion, or even spark a movement for change. Yet while technology and the Internet have evolved rapidly over the last decade, our understanding of what it means to be a leader in this new, networked society has not kept pace. Leadership has become distributed and collaborative. The new reality is that leaders don't lead alone. We are all part of a much broader problem-solving network, with many high-performing organizations and individuals—public and private—working on different parts of the same problem or even the same part of the same problem. The most influential members of the c...

Lord Growth Development Horizons from Lawrence Haddad House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee - Sixth Report: The Economic Impact and Effectiveness of Development Aid The above report was published on March 20. Here are my reactions to the abstract. Disclaimers: (1) I have only read the abstract, not the entire report and (2) IDS is a recipient of DFID funding. My comments appear in italics after LH. There goes the knighthood. Abstract One in five of the world's population still lives on less than $1.25 a day. This poverty is a source of great human misery, and, if effective ways can be found to reduce it which are acceptable to the taxpayers of the developed world, then reduce it we should. This report is about development aid, and how effective it has been in promoting development and poverty reduction in recipient countries. It examines the Government's plans for a real terms increase of 37% in official aid spending in the four years to 2...

Do universities contribute to long run development? Chris Blattman The short answer may be yes. We've been talking about the Industrial Revolution the past week, so we may as well go even earlier "Commercial Revolution", the years from 1000 to 1500 (or so) when Europe awoke from its torpor and both cities and trade began to grow. Davide Cantoni and Noam Yuchtman test whether medieval universities played any role, looking at the foundation of Germany's first universities after 1386. We find that the trend rate of market establishment breaks upward in 1386 and that this break is greatest where the distance to a university shrank most. …Universities provided training in newly-rediscovered Roman and Canon law; students with legal training served in positions that reduced the uncertainty of trade in medieval Europe. We argue that training in the law, and the consequent development of legal and administrative institutions, was an important channe...

Fear of Buying: The Psychology of Renting (Part 5 of 5) The Big Picture All last week, we looked at the Housing Recovery theme, challenging the arguments and assumptions of the Residential Real Estate bulls. Last Monday, we began with Debunking the Housing Recovery Story , looking at the huge overhang of Shadow inventory. On Tuesday, it was a Reality Check on Home Affordability . Wednesday, we looked at valuations in the Problem With Home Prices . And on Thursday, we discussed Foreclosures: A Decade Long Overhang . Today in part 5, we take a closer look at the Psychology of Renting — the factors that have led to a fear of owning homes, and how his may play out in the Housing recovery. ~~~ Way back in 2005, as we were approaching the peak of the Real Estate frenzy, David Leonhardt published an interesting and rather contrarian article, Is It Better to Buy or Rent? . The Pulitzer prize winning business reporter for the New York Times wrote: "...

The struggle to provide mental healthcare Global development news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk Years of warfare in Mogadishu have taken a toll on the mental health of many citzens, but appropriate care facilities are limited Along the main road in Mogadishu, traders are busy selling goods, including second-hand T-shirts and jeans to passing customers. You could almost miss Habeb public mental hospital sitting 5-metres beyond the road. It's the only medical institution in Somalia with trained psychiatric professionals. Through the hospital's rusty main gate, reinforced with barbed wire, there is a faded sign on the wall that says guns, knives and qat (a narcotic leaf popular in Somalia) aren't allowed on the premises. Standing next to the sign is Abdi Rahman Habeeb, a middle-aged man with an orange-dyed beard and a deep, husky voice. A psychiatric nurse by training, Habeeb moves slowly from one patient to the next, giving medication. He...

Kotok: I'm Worried The Big Picture I'm Worried David R. Kotok April 8, 2012 ~~~ A note to readers.  This 2000-word commentary is a longer-term view; think in terms of years, not months or days.  The essay is not in conflict with the fully invested position currently held at Cumberland. The words reflect my personal thinking only. Some of my colleagues disagree. In my personal view, the future is uncertain (of course) and may be unattractive for the longer-term outlook. In my view, our American political system is failing us.  In my view, we are joining the list of declining world powers.  The framework to support that argument follows. "The external menace 'You'll end up like Greece, if you do not do this and that' and the internal opprobrium heaped on some categories of taxpayers are very powerful and dangerous instruments to deprive people of their own personal freedoms."  – Vincenzo Sciarretta My friend V...

Bitcoin a virtual currency for Africa? Timbuktu Chronicles Emily Alpert writes In the LA Times : image courtesy of MIT Tech Review If you've heard of Bitcoin , you might be a computer geek. The virtual money aspires to become a universal currency that doesn't depend on governments or banks . Cutting out the banks results in cheaper transactions, Bitcoin backers say. Online payments pass from person to person without using a bank as the middleman. And unlike electronic payments with ordinary currency, governments can't halt Bitcoin payments, an idea that appeals to libertarians. Recently: German software developer and Bitcoin exchange consultant Rudiger Koch (of Intersango ) recently at  pitched the idea in Nigeria , arguing that Bitcoin has advantages for African countries. Bitcoin has no inflation tax, unlike ordinary cash. It could be spent and shared using cellphones, which are ubiquitous in much of Africa. Cellphone systems tha...

Jack van Ham over 'de prijs van nationalisme, angst en gemakzucht, met dank aan Arend Jan' Vice Versa - vakblad over ontwikkelingssamenwerking Het debat over het nut van ontwikkelingssamenwerking zit momenteel op een hoogtepunt. Jack van Ham wil een stevig onderbouwd tegengeluid geven aan Arend Jan Boekestijn en consorten. De voormalig topman van ICCO en het Rode Kruis is daarnaast bang dat Nederland 'een mooie toekomst achter zich laat'. Dat de kogel door de ontwikkelingshulpkerk zou gaan, is geen verrassing. Arend Jan Boekestijn en consorten kregen jarenlang vanwege populistische en spektakeltaal veel mediapodium. Nu lijkt het laatste restje verzet hiertegen verdwenen. In twee jaar tijd wordt het budget van, volgens Boekestijn, "het nationaal schuldgevoel", waarschijnlijk met ongeveer 50% wegbezuinigd. Het gedoogkabinet haalde er in zijn eerste jaar 900 miljoen euro af. Hierbij reken ik de budgetvervuiling niet mee. In haar tweed...