Rather than write up a blog posting or article every time I find it interesting, I’ve added a widget to my blog sidebar that shares blog posts and news articles I enjoy. See below.
Periodically I will keep highlighting some of the most interesting of these posts, like the ones below.
The War Crimes blog notes how the International Criminal Court is pushing for the arrest of two Sudanese government officials. In another interesting post, the same blog notes that the US faces its first test of a 1994 law that makes it a crime for U.S. citizens to commit torture or war crimes overseas.
In a similar vein, Dani Rodrik blogs how the WTO is the only international institution with the power to hold the US to account.
Whether you like it or not, the WTO is the only international organization in existence that actually makes the U.S. do what it would not otherwise have done on its own. No other organization has such power.
The exciting International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3IE) at the Center for Global Development selects its first director, Howard White. See the CGD document that lays out the mandate.
The World Bank’s PSD blog points us to the World Youth Report 2007.
My Yale colleagues Dean Karlan and Ian Ayres launch stickK.com to provide “commitment contracts” that let individuals set a goal (like weight-loss), choose consequences for failing to comply, and decide how to verify their progress.
Dean also runs a fantastic development research organization, Innovations for Poverty Action. His research focuses largely on the effectiveness of micro-finance, but he also has a recent paper on charitable giving that experiments with how people respond to offers of a matched grant (that was also covered by the New York Times).
Could the famous Milgram obedience experiment (fictionally shocking people to death) be repeated today? Most people say “no”. The Monkey Cage blog talks about how one Institutional Review Board said “yes”.
The NYT reports on two hedge fund analysis who have started a charity-rating system, GiveWell. While a great idea, two smart criticisms in the article stick out: it rewards charities who are good at collecting evidence, not those who are good, and collecting evidence raises overhead (which most donors dislike). Where you stand depends on whether you think that collecting evidence is worth the investment–in assuring your donors, in improving your program design and targeting, and in building in learning. So far, I have not seen this done very effectively in many charities. Hence my life’s work.
Speaking of charitable giving, this holiday season, consider giving to our friend’s AIDS organization in Uganda. Details here. Only 10 more days for a 2007 charitable tax deduction receipt!
