Comments on: Links I liked

By: My favorite Sudanese expert weighs in on the ICC « haba na haba

My favorite Sudanese expert weighs in on the ICC « haba na haba — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:52:20 +0000

[...] HT to Chris Blattman. [...]

By: Introducing… the Save Darfur Thong « From Davos to Seattle

Introducing… the Save Darfur Thong « From Davos to Seattle — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:16:24 +0000

[...] my readership (whoever that is these days) should know. (H/T Chris Blattman via Wronging [...]

By: Paul

Paul — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:54:07 +0000

It is not really that hard to find a microcredit program that did not have much impact, and I’m surprised that academics can get publishing mileage on these. Everybody knows that a lot of microfinance programs fail. The big question is: How many work, and if any, what makes them work?

Apply Bayes’ Rule. There are thousands of MFIs out there, so how far should 3 or 4 good academic studies let us generalize? Not that far.

The better lesson is that MFIs should be structured so that impartial evaluation is possible, and they can know whether they are working or not.

By: Punditus Maximus

Punditus Maximus — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:37:48 +0000

So I realized that even really basic data on countries, like GDP and population, really isn’t good for most LDCs. And I thought about it, and I also realized that the World Bank could trivially fund a statistical bureau comprised 95% of local talent with a few hired guns brought in to train them up in modern techniques.

And, of course, we don’t. Which lead me to my next conclusion — we don’t really care very much. So, um, that may extend.