In a post last week, Martin Ravallion pondered the issue of caring equally about poor people wherever they may live. He provides his thoughts on the merits of overseas development assistance (ODA) to MICs and points out several reasons why it may be time to revisit graduation thresholds. The post generated some buzz, including on The Economist’s Feast and Famine blog. Read it here. Also there are some interesting comments on his post from various experts, as well as a separate post on the topic by Shaida Badiee, Director of the Bank’s Data Group. Read them here.
Is aid data transparent? If this intrigues you, check out the “global aid data visualization” competition being run by The Guardian. Visualize the world of aid and it’s transparency and win $2000. The competition ends on 29 November, 2012. Find out more here.
Last year, the World Development Report 2012 pointed out that nearly 4 million poor women go missing each year in developing countries. A year after it’s release, one can find some comfort in the fact that Bangladesh is now reporting a decline in missing women. In an informative essay (h/t Duncan Green), Naila Kabeer describes the changing pattern of gender parity and growing importance of daughters in Bangladesh.
Finally, on a lighter note, on vulture.com, Bilge Ebiri writes that most of the Bond villains’ plans often deal with manipulating the world’s economic systems. Based on this assertion, he asks World Bank Economist Jean-Jacques Detheir about which plan of a Bond villain would have worked and which not. Read this piece and let us know which ‘Bondian’ economic theory most appeals.
2013 Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE): Call for Papers: The conference, organized by the World Bank Development Economics Vice Presidency, will be held June 3-4 at the World Bank's headquarters in Washington, D.C. With “Risk and Vulnerability” as the theme, the conference is calling for papers that examine in innovative ways how to manage risk and vulnerability at the individual, household, firm and country levels, as well as in the financial sector. Topics could include sources of risk and vulnerability, risk management strategies, how governments, social and economic systems manage risk, and globalization’s impact on risk and vulnerability. Papers that do not fit into these categories but are related to the main conference theme are also welcome. Selected papers will be presented at main sessions. Draft papers or two-page proposals should be submitted by January 31 to abcde@worldbank.org, along with the title of the paper, authors, affiliation, and contact information. They should also address the main questions to be examined, relevant literature, unique contribution to the literature, and methodology. Authors of selected papers will be invited, although not required, to submit their papers for a special issue of the World Bank Economic Review. Authors of accepted proposals will be contacted by February 28. A work-in-progress draft will be required by April 1.
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