Development Roast Giving international development a proper roasting

A longstanding question in economics is why some countries are much wealthier than others. Recent studies show that one part of the answer has much to do with differences in productivity levels among countries. Since the seminal work of Solow (1), an important concern in economic literature has been how …

By Natasha Morales Social policy in Bolivia has changed substantially since the increase in world oil prices. According to the Supreme Decree 29565 enacted in May 2008, the increase of revenues coming from the direct hydrocarbon taxes (IDH) should be used, among others, for social protection programs. However, there is …

“I will see it when I believe it” Slip of tongue by Thane Pittman Almost 20 years ago Thomas Gilovich wrote a very interesting book about the “Fallibility of Human Reason in Everyday Life” explaining some of the mechanisms through which we tend to deceive ourselves and each other. In …

“Thinking to get at once all the gold the goose could give, he killed it and opened it only to find – nothing” By Aesop, The Goose with the Golden Eggs During the last 5 years we have experienced a spectacular oil-price boom (see Figure 1), which has been thoroughly exploited by …

“A good lie will have travelled half way around the world while the truth is putting on her boots” Mark Twain As regular readers of this newsletter will have discovered, I believe the threat of Climate Change is being vastly exaggerated not only by the media and certain individuals, but …

Last week, WWF came out with an alarming report “Climate Change: Faster, Stronger, Sooner: An overview of the climate science published since the UN IPCC Fourth Assessment Report” suggesting that Global warming is accelerating beyond IPCC’s forecasts. That is a really impressive accomplishment at a time where everything points to …

A Tipping Point is the moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire, the point where something previously rare suddenly becomes common (1). Fashion is an obvious example, where certain styles and patterns are virtually unseen for decades, and then suddenly booms …

Due to an excessive work load, this weeks’ newsletter will highlight a collection of earlier articles on the topic of Poverty. Bolivians feel poor, but not that poor(L. E. Andersen) According to official estimates, there are at least 3 million extremely poor people in Bolivia (about 38% of the total …

Last week, NASA held a conference on solar activity, showing the results of Ulysses’ third and last orbit around the sun (1). “The sun cycles between periods of great activity and lesser activity. Right now, we are in a period of minimal activity that has stretched on longer than anyone …

Nowadays everybody in Bolivia talks about revolution and the first thing that anyone can imagine, and has seen in the last days, is people fighting and killing each other. I do not want to talk about that kind of revolutions, instead I will talk about another revolution that Bolivia should …