Education

Prioritizing spending alternatives is difficult in every country. But it is especially challenging in Haiti, where, following years of fractious politics, a newly elected government is striving to expand the economy and improve wellbeing while confronting the lingering consequences of the massive 2010 earthquake.

Investment in education is essential for Haiti to lift incomes and fight poverty. But in this area like every other, decision-makers face many options. How can limited resources be spent to achieve the most possible? That is a question that the research project Haiti Priorise sets out to answer.

The Copenhagen Consensus is publishing new research papers written by education economists on crucial topics including building more schools, developing teachers, teaching in Creole instead of French, and providing scholarships to keep girls in school.

Nations have a short opportunity during which they can impart skills to any child, to prepare him or her for adulthood. What is better: to teach a trade in the hope of providing greater economic security, or to teach civic education with the goal of making a ‘better’ citizen?

What are the biggest problems facing humanity? A lack of education and opportunity, poverty, inequality, violence and war, and environmental degradation.

These are the areas where trillions of dollars are spent in well-meaning efforts by governments and donors each year. But agreeing that a problem exists is not the same as knowing how to fix it. When it comes to development spending and philanthropy, it is too easy for money to be wasted - and opportunities missed - because this important distinction is ignored.

Girls’ education is one of the most powerful things that any nation can invest in, because it creates large and lasting social and economic benefits. Girls who are well-educated go on to lead more empowered, prosperous lives. They delay pregnancy until they are older, affecting maternal and infant mortality rates. And they raise healthier children, creating a virtuous cycle with inter-generational benefits.

A new report by spending watchdog the National Audit Office has generated concern about UK foreign aid by revealing that allegations of fraud have risen more than four-fold in five years.

Aid always has an element of risk, which agencies such as the Department for International Development (DfID) strive to keep to acceptable levels. But there is a broader problem globally with the way that development funds are allocated.

La vision des inégalités diffusée par Oxfam est caricaturale. En fait, les inégalités diminuent. par Bjorn Lomborg, Copenhaguen Consensus Center

Aujourd'hui, on observe une impression générale - et fausse - que l'inégalité gagne inexorablement du terrain dans le monde. Oxfam a récemment contribué à jeter la confusion dans l'esprit déclarant que la richesse des huit personnes les plus fortunées du monde équivaut à celle de la moitié de la population mondiale.

NYKYISIN on vallalla virheellinen käsitys, jonka mukaan eriarvoisuus lisääntyy vääjäämättä. Kansalaisjärjestö Oxfam ruokki tätä väärinkäsitystä tammikuussa julkistetussa raportissaan väittämällä, että kahdeksalla maailman varakkaimmalla ihmisellä on yhtä paljon omaisuutta kuin puolella koko maailman väestöstä.

Oxfam mittaa nettovarallisuutta, ei tuloja. Järjestön laskelmiin sisältyy niin sanottu negatiivinen omaisuus, kuten opintolaina ja asunto-omaisuuteen sidottu pääoma.

Det är en i dag vanligt förekommande - och felaktig – uppfattning att ojämlikheten ökar obevekligt. Oxfam har nyligen bidragit till detta missförstånd genom att hävda att världens åtta rikaste personer äger lika mycket som hälften av jordens befolkning.

Σύμφωνα με την επικρατούσα άποψη, το 2016 ήταν μια φριχτή χρονιά. Φοβερές τρομοκρατικές επιθέσεις έπληξαν πολλές χώρες. Η κρίση στη Συρία στοίχισε δεκάδες χιλιάδες ζωές. Στην Τουρκία πραγματοποιήθηκαν επιθέσεις αυτοκτονίας και ένα αποτυχημένο πραξικόπημα. Σε περισσότερες από 70 χώρες υποχώρησε η ελευθερία.