Category: Development

Wall at world bank
Development, Interviews

An interview with Aart Kraay: Acting Head of the World Bank

I was lucky enough to be able to have a brief conversation with Aart Kraay, the acting Head Economist at the World Bank. He is Director of Research in the Developmental Research Group, and an expert on international capital movements, growth and inequality, governance, and the Chinese economy. Our discussion was largely centered around a paper, published by the World Bank in January 2020, that … Continue reading An interview with Aart Kraay: Acting Head of the World Bank

Unknown's avatarMaxwell DeLorenzoLeave a comment
Development, Finance and Markets

Solution to the moral hazards of microfinance?

Microfinance is commonly regarded as the promise of innovative, cost-effective paths to poverty reduction and social change.  However, we are not living in a perfectly competitive credit market, so downsides such as moral hazard and asymmetric information that tend to create inefficiency make the program less effective, or even counterproductive in certain cases. So why don’t we ask people to help others and do the right … Continue reading Solution to the moral hazards of microfinance?

Unknown's avatarCaspian LeeLeave a comment
Book Reviews, Development

“Poor Economics” by Duflo and Banerjee

Duflo and Banerjee’s Poor Economics is a developmental economics book which aims to change the way we think about alleviating poverty in developing countries, shifting our focus from the ‘big questions’ and ‘big policies’ towards evidence-based changes and nudges at the margin. It does this by clearly establishing the conditions in which the poor live and how they react to certain changes in their environment, … Continue reading “Poor Economics” by Duflo and Banerjee

Unknown's avatarEd Penney1 Comment