Comments on: Bang for the Buck http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html A conversation on global economic issues, ideas & data to help us all become better contributors to defeating the scourge of extreme global poverty Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:26:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Priorities for helping the world’s poor | DefeatPoverty.com http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html/comment-page-1#comment-2872 Priorities for helping the world’s poor | DefeatPoverty.com Tue, 19 Jul 2011 18:39:43 +0000 http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-the-buck.html#comment-2872 [...] I think both articles are a good read and both articulate very strong perspectives and arguments. I am most intrigued though by the arguments made by Bjorn Lomborg as they are more global in nature, so I’m going to focus more on his ideas in this article. Lomborg is a professor at Copenhagen Business School and the organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus, an interesting gathering of some of the world’s smartest scientists and economists which attempts to gain a “consensus” on the priorities for doing the most good with our investments. I wrote about this process earlier. [...] [...] I think both articles are a good read and both articulate very strong perspectives and arguments. I am most intrigued though by the arguments made by Bjorn Lomborg as they are more global in nature, so I’m going to focus more on his ideas in this article. Lomborg is a professor at Copenhagen Business School and the organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus, an interesting gathering of some of the world’s smartest scientists and economists which attempts to gain a “consensus” on the priorities for doing the most good with our investments. I wrote about this process earlier. [...]

]]> By: Mike O'Neil http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html/comment-page-1#comment-345 Mike O'Neil Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:40:35 +0000 http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-the-buck.html#comment-345 I love the article Dave. Here's a fantasy of mine. Offer venture capitalists a significant tax incentive to give their time evaluate government proposals to solve social problems of all sorts. If you ever watched the reality show 'Shark Tank' with a panel of venture capitalists, that would be my dream...but instead of committing their own money they are evaluating how we are committing our common money from a risk/reward perspective. I'd rather hear what a panel like that would say vs the Congressional Budget Office or similar. In my view, venture capitalists are specialists in determining risk/reward trade offs. They would bring fresh real world input to a process that most times to me seems run by people who are unfamiliar with the concept of economic trade offs, bang for your buck, etc. I am extraordinarily disappointed by the small percentage of people advising our current president who have any job experience beyond working for govt or academia. I love the article Dave. Here’s a fantasy of mine. Offer venture capitalists a significant tax incentive to give their time evaluate government proposals to solve social problems of all sorts. If you ever watched the reality show ‘Shark Tank’ with a panel of venture capitalists, that would be my dream…but instead of committing their own money they are evaluating how we are committing our common money from a risk/reward perspective. I’d rather hear what a panel like that would say vs the Congressional Budget Office or similar.

In my view, venture capitalists are specialists in determining risk/reward trade offs. They would bring fresh real world input to a process that most times to me seems run by people who are unfamiliar with the concept of economic trade offs, bang for your buck, etc. I am extraordinarily disappointed by the small percentage of people advising our current president who have any job experience beyond working for govt or academia.

]]> By: A Smarter Approach to Global Warming | DefeatPoverty.com http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html/comment-page-1#comment-343 A Smarter Approach to Global Warming | DefeatPoverty.com Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:56:06 +0000 http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-the-buck.html#comment-343 [...] Some more Bang for the Buck recommendations. [...] [...] Some more Bang for the Buck recommendations. [...]

]]> By: Dave Richards http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html/comment-page-1#comment-204 Dave Richards Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:54:00 +0000 http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-the-buck.html#comment-204 hmmm...anonymous...would you suggest we invest nothing in helping our most vulnerable fellow citizens? Are you implying that you'd rather just see people suffer and perish? hmmm…anonymous…would you suggest we invest nothing in helping our most vulnerable fellow citizens? Are you implying that you’d rather just see people suffer and perish?

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html/comment-page-1#comment-203 Anonymous Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:16:00 +0000 http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-the-buck.html#comment-203 What would happend to all those surviving people, if all those suggested investments would be made?<br/>How much would it affect overpopulation?<br/>How much more suffering would it bring? What would happend to all those surviving people, if all those suggested investments would be made?
How much would it affect overpopulation?
How much more suffering would it bring?

]]> By: Liz http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html/comment-page-1#comment-186 Liz Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:54:00 +0000 http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-the-buck.html#comment-186 A book edited by Bjorn Lomborg, Global Crises, Global Solutions, deals with this with incredible detail. Although I think there's certainly some value in approaching global issues this way, it certainly seems to have its limitations. There are a lot of things I didn't like about the book's approach, but the biggest was that the costs and solutions try to put a value on human life in order to complete the ranking process. They tried to be sensitive about it, but then they adjusted this vslue for purchasing power parity...<br/><br/>Cool article. Thanks! A book edited by Bjorn Lomborg, Global Crises, Global Solutions, deals with this with incredible detail. Although I think there’s certainly some value in approaching global issues this way, it certainly seems to have its limitations. There are a lot of things I didn’t like about the book’s approach, but the biggest was that the costs and solutions try to put a value on human life in order to complete the ranking process. They tried to be sensitive about it, but then they adjusted this vslue for purchasing power parity…

Cool article. Thanks!

]]> By: Yassir Islam http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-buck.html/comment-page-1#comment-185 Yassir Islam Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:32:00 +0000 http://www.defeatpoverty.com/2008/08/bang-for-the-buck.html#comment-185 Yes, as far as biofortification(which was one of the CC's top 5 solutions) the potential benefits are enormous.<br/>HarvestPlus is breeding staple food crops eaten by the poor, that are rich in vitamin A, zinc, and iron. Once the crops are developed for a relatively small investment, they can be grown and consumed locally, in rural areas, year after year. Remember that the vast majority of the world's poor live in rural areas, are tied in one way or another to agriculture, rely mostly on staple foods for nourishment(hence the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in the first place), and are beyond the reach of most supplementation programs and fortified foods. Yes, as far as biofortification(which was one of the CC’s top 5 solutions) the potential benefits are enormous.
HarvestPlus is breeding staple food crops eaten by the poor, that are rich in vitamin A, zinc, and iron. Once the crops are developed for a relatively small investment, they can be grown and consumed locally, in rural areas, year after year. Remember that the vast majority of the world’s poor live in rural areas, are tied in one way or another to agriculture, rely mostly on staple foods for nourishment(hence the problem of micronutrient malnutrition in the first place), and are beyond the reach of most supplementation programs and fortified foods.

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