What We're Reading @CGD

These are some of the news articles, blog posts, and research papers that CGD fellows and staff think are worth reading. It's updated regularly, so check back soon to see more. You can also sign up for email updates or subscribe to the RSS feed.

This week

The 'Untouchable' - Sadanand Dhume
(from Milan Vaishnav) Profile of Uttar Pradesh in Foreign Policy magazine: does she get more flak because she flaunts rather than fudges? - foreignpolicy.com

The Fanciful World of Foreign Aid - Ranjani Mohanty
(from Andy Sumner) New New York Times blog post on the new bottom billion. - india.blogs.nytimes.com

Rogue Aid? On the Importance of Political Institutions and Natural Resources for China’s Allocation of Foreign Aid
(from Denizhan Duran) Is China providing rogue aid? Looks like it’s not: Chinese aid allocation decisions closely mirror Western donors’. - voxeu.org

Aspirin, Angioplasty, and Proton Beam Therapy: The Economics of Smarter Health Care Spending - Katherine Baicker and Amitabh Chandra
(from Kate McQueston) From the report: "The growing share of the U.S. economy devoted to health care spending is cause for concern both because of the share that is publicly financed and because of the inefficiency with which those resources are used. Fueled in part by demographic transitions, unchecked increases in entitlement spending will necessitate some combination of tax increases, the elimination of other public spending, or public debt levels that far exceed those currently observed in Greece. Despite these spending levels, highly cost-effective treatments like aspirin and flu shots are underused, while angioplasty is used in both lifesaving and inappropriate cases and exorbitantly unproven procedures such as proton beam therapy are generously reimbursed by public programs." - kc.frb.org

Migration and Economic Mobility in Tanzania: Evidence from a Tracking Survey - Kathleen Beegle, Joachim De Weerdt, and Stefan Dercon
(from Justin Sandefur) From the report: "This study explores to what extent migration has contributed to improved living standards of individuals in Tanzania. Using a thirteen-year panel survey, we find that migration between 1991 and 2004 added 36 percentage points to consumption growth." - mitpressjournals.org

The Egypt-U.S. Breakup: It's Not You, It's Me - Steven A. Cook
(from Connie Veillette) After years of partnership between the U.S. and Egypt, is Cairo serving America divorce papers? - theatlantic.com

U.S. Agency Will Offer $100-Million to Universities to Study Development Issues - Ian Wihelm
(from Sarah Jane Staats) From the article: "As part of an effort to reinvigorate its work with higher education, the U.S. Agency for International Development is starting a new $100-million program to study foreign aid and generate solutions to problems facing the developing world, like lack of adequate food resources, government corruption, and environmental degradation." - chronicle.com

Evaluating Trade Interventions - Markus Goldstein
(from Michael Clemens) Trade policy has always been hard to rigorously evaluate. But that's changing. - blogs.worldbank.org

UK Promises More Openness Over Arms Export Licences
(from Owen Barder) From the article: "Ministers say they plan to open up the licensing process for arms exports to more public scrutiny. The government intends to publish information about licence applications and updates of sales, once they have been awarded." - bbc.co.uk

Humanitarian Aid for Rape Victims
(from Amanda Glassman) From the article: "Providing abortions for women and girls who have been subjected to the use of rape as a weapon in armed conflict is clearly not “a method of family planning.” And informing rape victims and governments about the right to proper medical treatment, which would include abortion, under the laws of war does not amount to lobbying or coercion. Yet the misinterpretation of the Helms amendment was formalized in a policy directive in 2008 by the United States Agency for International Development and continues to be enforced by other aid programs as well." - nytimes.com

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