A popular study from the 1970s that helps sell millions of dollars’ worth of fish oil supplements worldwide is deeply flawed, according to a new
Nearly a century later… we collected individual-level administrative records of applicants to the Mothers’ Pension program—the first government-sponsored welfare program in the US (1911-1935) —and
The JEP has a symposium on Big Data, ungated A brilliant anecdote on how scientists react to science against their interests Cash versus food aid,
An article in Inside Sources: They wanted to allow consumers to digitize all of their postal mail so that individuals could get rid of junk
I love international development, but if I could do it all over again I might return to my roots as a political/economic historian. In the
In short, yes. A new paper by me and Jeannie Annan: We evaluate a program of agricultural training and inputs to high-risk Liberian men, mainly
One of the topics I’m most notorious for blogging about is the topic I know the least about: corruption. Basically, I’ve said it’s a second
I’m looking for an intern to work on my “More Sweatshops for Africa?” project in Ethiopia, based in Addis. The position would be for ~12
I am starkly amazed: A very serious economics book on inequality, Thomas Piketty’s Capital, is currently Amazon’s #1 best selling book. Whether you like this
India is voting. To put things in perspective: The number of Indians eligible to vote in the current election: ~815 million The total voting age
[This] illustrates another upside to cash transfers: they can serve as the index funds of international development. An index fund is a bundle of investments
From Brian Baugh, Itzhak Ben-David, and Hoonsuk Park: Several states have recently implemented laws requiring the collection of sales tax on online purchases. In practice, however, only
From Alex Pareene at Salon, the tragedy of the New York Times is its terrible opinion section. Don’t get me wrong, it is not as bad
From the CIA archives: This classified booklet described ways to sabotage the US’ World War II enemies. Many of the sabotage instructions guide ordinary citizens,
Apparently the first reference to comparing treatment and control groups is in the Book of Daniel in the bible, where King Nebuchadnezzar orders his people
Since our daycare closes for 6 weeks this summer starting (don’t get me started) we are thinking of relocating to Brussels, Geneva, or Nairobi. Jeannie’s
The most common comment on yesterday’s advice post for assistant professors: “I agree with everything except the tirade against book chapters.” Let me say why
It’s a bit early for me to be giving advice (I’m only on the cusp of non-Assistant status), but I found myself asked for advice
The Heartbleed hit list, and what passwords you should change Minimalist print ads Expat Etiquette: How to Look Good in Bad Places
Harrison Ford does an “Ask me anything” We were shooting in Tunisia, and the script had a scene in which I fight a swordsman, an
That somebody powerful might actually use their research. From the NY Times, an example from a warlord in South Sudan: Mr. Machar is plotting the
