Christopher Blattman

• Monkey Cage

Here's how Uagadou, the eminent African wizarding school, would likely have developed.

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Transparency seems good, until it isn't.

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Even the most effective international charities could double or triple the number people they boost out of poverty. Here's how.

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Work programs and jail time don't seem to reduce crime, but from experiments in Liberia to Chicago there's hope for something new: behavioral therapy.

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The evidence is in: Seven randomized trials on four continents show that microcredit doesn’t end poverty, despite all the hype

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Every year Bill and Melinda Gates write a letter on how the world can end poverty and suffering. The questions they ask sound an awful lot like my class exams. So how would I grade the letter?

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Blaming the IMF and other financial institutions for Ebola is just killing the messenger. Spending more on health means hard choices that few bother to discuss.

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Why do so many people get the cause of the Ebola crisis wrong? They ignore local politics, and they assume they’re dealing with a state that can actually get stuff done.

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Is it OK to have research affect real world outcomes?