Fighting global poverty requires finding solutions to some of the world’s most complex problems. Solving any complex problem requires a clear and simple feedback loop. Learning from our mistakes over time is what leads us toward the solutions that work. The problem with development work is that this feedback loop is almost non-existent. AnContinue reading “Broken Feedback Loops and Evidence-Based Development”
Category Archives: Economics
Haiti’s Fuel Subsidies are Hurting People – So Are Plans to Get Rid of Them
This post first appeared on P4H Global’s Redefining Aid blog. Haiti, like many low-income countries around the world, subsidizes the price of oil for its citizens. While these subsidies are intended to keep fuel prices low, they are damaging to economic growth and lead to a dependence on foreign aid. Fuel subsidies are expensive, mainlyContinue reading “Haiti’s Fuel Subsidies are Hurting People – So Are Plans to Get Rid of Them”
Transaction Costs, Market Efficiency and Economic Development
Economic activity is defined by transaction costs. There are a world of “hidden” costs involved in any exchange of goods or services. It is widely known in economic theory that these “transaction costs” explain the way in which our economies operate. In the developed world, we have markets, firms, and technologies that all exist toContinue reading “Transaction Costs, Market Efficiency and Economic Development”
Malthusian Poverty
In 1798, the Reverend Thomas Malthus published his Essay on the Principle of Population1. In this essay, Malthus made a catastrophic prediction that the world’s population would outgrow the resources needed to support it. Fortunately, after more than 200 years, we know that this prediction turned out to be wrong. Although his work was largelyContinue reading “Malthusian Poverty”
Scott M. Miller 