March 20, 2009
First Meeting of the New MCC Board: More Orientation than Decision-Making
(with apologies for the late posting due to blog platform migration issues at CGD)
CGD Policy Blogs
March 20, 2009
Why Marc Jacobsons Research Matters for the Clean Technology Fund
This post originally appeared on CARMA.org.
The airwaves have recently been filled with advertisements heralding a plethora of clean energy technologies. GE promoted its smart grid technologies in a Wizard of Oz-themed Super Bowl ad. Vestas, the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, has branded itself No. 1 in Modern Energy. Various groups have designed commercials touting the potential of "clean coal," including a GE ad featuring models-turned-miners (tagline: "Harnessing the power of coal is looking more beautiful every day."). And environmental groups have struck back against the branding of coal as "clean" with satirical advertisements (tagline: "Clean coal harnesses the awesome power of the word ‘clean!’". In this maelstrom of marketing, who can say which clean energy technology is best?
March 20, 2009
NGO Leaders and Business Community Urge Obama and Congress to Act on Trade & Development Agenda -- with a Little Help from CGD
In early 2009, before the inauguration of President Obama, Kim Elliott and I decided it was time to think seriously and coherently about the future direction of U.S. trade policy, especially as it relates to developing countries.
March 17, 2009
Going Postal?
This table is from CGAP's Financial Institutions with a Double Bottom Line report. It shows the estimated number of savings and loan accounts at various kinds of "alternative financial institutions" in the entire developing world. The first column is for microfinance institutions (MFIs).
March 16, 2009
Grab That Bull by Its Horns: HIV/AIDS in the Capital of the Richest Country in the World
Sunday’s Washington Post’s headline news: “HIV/AIDS Rate in DC Hits 3%.”. We are indeed in the midst of a “generalized and severe” HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Nation’s capital. Shocked? You should be.
March 16, 2009
Pardon Our Appearance
Last Thursday night, CGD moved all of its blogs to a new software platform, which is still under (re)construction. Those of you watching on the RSS channel may have been bewildered by a spray of August 2008 posts from young people in Liberia. Sorry about that. Circumstances beyond my control, etc. Things are returning to normal.
March 16, 2009
The Acronym Party: GAVI's New Call for Nominations for IAC Members for the AMC Secretariat
If the title is a bit confusing, let me do some deciphering. In its role as the AMC (Advance Market Commitment) Secretariat, the GAVI Alliance Secretariat is seeking 3 additional members for its Independent Assessment Committee (IAC), each with expertise in one of the following areas: public health, public-private finance, and vaccine industry economics.
March 14, 2009
Todd v. Panjaitan
In chapter 2 and in this "what I'm reading" post, I quote the work of Helen Todd, who with her husband spent a year, basically 1992, living amid and studying in two villages in Bangladesh. Her book about the experience is a superbly written ethnographic study, albeit of an unrepresentative sample that excludes women who dropped out of Grameen Bank after less than ten years.
March 14, 2009
U.S. Treasury Proposal on IMF Funding and Global Governance—Two Steps in the Right Direction
A statement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner released on Wednesday in advance of the G-20 meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors took two steps in the right direction.
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