Global Prosperity Wonkcast

 

Archive for May, 2010

 

Turning the Tide through Better Prevention: Mead Over on the AIDS Transition

May 25, 2010

Posted by in Global Health Policy Tags: , ,

Mead OverEven as the cost of treating HIV/AIDS has fallen dramatically, the number of people newly infected has remained high. What can be done to reverse this trend and finally defeat this disease? This week on the Wonkcast, I’m joined by Mead Over, a senior fellow here at the Center for Global Development and perhaps the world’s leading expert on the economics of HIV/AIDS. He has recently published two major essays, which introduce the concept of the “AIDS transition”—the point in time where the number of people living with the disease begins to fall. He argues persuasively that to reach this point, international donors must greatly strengthen incentives for effective prevention.

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A Report Card for the African Development Bank: Todd Moss

May 17, 2010

Posted by in Africa, Finance, International Financial Institutions, Private Investment Tags: , , ,

Todd MossWhen Donald Kaberuka became president of the African Development Bank five years ago, he faced daunting tasks, including defining a mission for an institution that many dismissed as irrelevant.

My guest on this week’s show is Todd Moss, vice president and senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. Todd directed a working group that, in 2006, issued six recommendations, three each for bank management and the bank’s shareholder countries. Now, Todd has issued a report card that grades the bank and its shareholders on each of the recommendations.

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The Economics of Child Soldiering: Chris Blattman

May 4, 2010

Posted by in Africa, Fragile States Tags: , , , , ,

nameThis week, I’m joined on the Global Prosperity Wonkcast by Chris Blattman, assistant professor of political science and economics at Yale University and a non-resident fellow here at the Center for Global Development. Much of Chris’ research tries to understand what happens after child soldiers return home, with the goal of designing programs that can better reintegrate former combatants into society. He also explores the logic that explains why guerrilla armies in many conflicts use child soldiers in the first place.

Chris has studied extensively the case of the Lord’s Resistance Army, a Uganda guerrilla group responsible for some 60-70,000 abductions. Outsiders often despair over the large number of these former child soldiers, calling them a “ticking time bomb“.

“That’s a very pessimistic view, and it’s the dominant view,” Chris tells me. “And from what we can see, it’s simply not true.”

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