Mar 03
Most of us are familiar with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)., but for those who are not, the MDGs include a set of eight (8) goals that about 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have all agreed to achieve by the year 2015. The goals include eradicating extreme poverty, reducing …
Feb 28
Women in many parts of the African continent perform up to 80% of the labor in their respective countries, yet are often denied basic rights, such as the right to own land, to access credit, and to operate their own businesses. They are the fundamental caregivers and providers of their families, yet many of them …
Feb 28
The Story of an Average Chinese Farmer Ever since Deng Xiaoping reformed China’s economy in 1978, the Communist country has been enjoying rapid economic growth. An industrial powerhouse, China has quickly established itself as a global player in international politics. But behind this veiled economic growth lie vast income inequalities that span across the majority …
Feb 24
In 2008, a video of Saudi women’s rights activist Wajeha al-Huweidar driving sent ripples through the internet community. The video was actually done as a protest ofthe Saudi Arabian ban on women driving. She was later arrested during a separate protest when she attempted to cross into Bahrain without the express permission of her legal …
Feb 23
Poverty and Economic Development in Asia’s Largest Slum. What is it about slum areas that intrigue people? Is it the constricted spaces that some call home while others call hell? Or the vibrant colors that fill the narrow alleys andshops? Slums have always had a certain aura that surrounds them, which makes people take a …
Feb 22
Imagine you have chest pains, you are light headed, you are nauseous and you have aches in all of your joints. In the Emergency Room, a doctor comes out to evaluate you, and then informs you that no less than four doctors will be operating on you for your illness. Each one has staked a …
Feb 21
This week Congress has been debating the upcoming year’s budget, with the new Republican leadership in the House of Representatives vowing to cut spending as much as possible. Included in those spending cuts is US Foreign Aid, or Official Development Assistance (ODA). House Republicans proposed up to 50% cuts in the funding of critical development …
Feb 18
A Federal Judge in Florida ruled on January 31, 2011, that the Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act that was passed last year (known to many of us as the health care law), which extended health insurance to almost every American, is unconstitutional. According to Judge Roger Vinson, a district Judge in Florida and a …
Feb 17
For decades, economists, historians, scholars and the like have studied economic development on the continent of Africa, seeking to explain what factors account for the region’s slow growth. From my own research, two interesting schools of thought have emerged: the concept of the “Poverty Trap” as purported by venerated economist and director of the UN …
Feb 14
It’s not only poor subsistence farmers in developing countries who pay the price for agricultural subsidies—we all do. Literally. The subsidies paid to the agricultural industries in rich, Western countries are funded by we, the taxpayer. In the United States, this amounts to about $286 billion in taxes under the 2008-2012 Farm Bill, or approximately …
