Digital Archive....

Meles Zenawi: in his own words – By Peter Gill African Arguments Meles retained the respect of international leaders as he sought to raise his country out of poverty and aid dependency. In the rush to judgement on the record and the legacy of Meles Zenawi as Ethiopia's leader for the past two decades, the man himself has barely left the shadows.  Yes, he achieved record economic growth for his country, and yes, he was a force for stability and an ally in the West's 'war on terror,' and no, he was certainly not a liberal democrat. He was also a much more attractive and significant figure than these achievements and positions suggest.   His work rate was punishing enough to have cost him his health (he was only 57) and his political predominance owed as much to an extraordinary intellect as to his control over the apparatus of party and state.  Reflecting his country's tradition of independence and its inclination to keep foreigners in ...

A Theory of "Poor Economics" SSIR Opinion & Analysis In a Stanford Social Innovation Review post last year , I wrote that the observations in the book Poor Economics needed a theory to explain them. In the book, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo had laid bare the gaps in our understanding of poverty, and I suggested that more work was needed to grasp poverty in more complex terms. In particular, I highlighted Banerjee and Duflo's recognition that the poor may have a reduced awareness of the future. Since writing that post, I have been working on a theory to explain these observations, and I now have something worthy of sharing.

One Man Against The Wall Street Lobby The Baseline Scenario By Simon Johnson Two diametrically opposed views of Wall Street and the dangers posed by global megabanks came more clearly into focus last week.  On the one hand, William B. Harrison, Jr. – former chairman of JP Morgan Chase – argued in the New York Times that today's massive banks are an essential part of a well-functioning market economy, and not at all helped by implicit government subsidies. On the other hand, there is a new powerful voice who knows how big banks really work and who is willing to tell the truth in great and convincing detail.  Jeff Connaughton – a former senior political adviser who has worked both for and against powerful Wall Street interests over the years – has just published a page-turning memoir that is also a damning critique of how Wall Street operates, the political capture of Washington, and our collective failure to reform finance in the past four years .  " The ...

Gloves Off Wisdom for Donors from the UK: A Philanthropy "How-To" The CEP Blog I did not necessarily expect to like Caroline Fiennes It Ain't What You Give, It's the Way You Give It , but I'd rank it among the best in the burgeoning industry of philanthropy how-to literature. I did not expect to like it because, lately, I have had trouble not rolling my eyes when I see the latest press release for yet another book offering donors advice on how to maximize their impact. Too many repeat the same essential counsel which, admittedly, isn't really much different from what we at CEP espouse either: be clear on your goals; devise coherent strategies; implement well; and assess progress. It's not that any of this advice is wrong. On the contrary, I think it's right on. Getting foundations to exemplify these qualities is CEP's focus, after all. Nor is it that philanthropists and major foundations exemplify these qualities in the ways they ...