University Professor at Columbia University, Director of the Center for Sustainable Development, Director of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, SDG Advocate Address: United States
The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of t... more The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peerreviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.
It is wrong that somebody's chances in life depend so starkly not on their talents or ambitio... more It is wrong that somebody's chances in life depend so starkly not on their talents or ambitions or how hard they work, but on where they were born. Those of us who believe that everyone—not just a few—should have the chance to fulfil their own potential, cannot stand by and watch Africa be left behind by the rest of the world. Our generation is heir to two and a half centuries of economic progress. We can realistically envision a world without extreme poverty by the year 2025 because technological progress enables us to meet basic human needs on a global scale and to achieve a margin above basic needs unprecedented in history… Remarkably, contrary to the dark vision of Thomas Malthus, we can accomplish all this with a world population that is eight times higher than in 1750.
Polymers are rendered more resistant to oxidation by the incorporation of a compound containing a... more Polymers are rendered more resistant to oxidation by the incorporation of a compound containing at least one phosphate grouping in which the phosphorus atom and at least two of the three oxygen atoms attached thereto by single covalent bonds form part of a cyclic structure, the remaining atoms in the ring being carbon atoms, such that when only two of the three said oxygen atoms form part of a cyclic structure the third said oxygen atom is attached to hydrogen, a metal, a metalloid group, an alkyl or substituted alkyl radical or a hindered aryl radical. The compound may be formed in situ in the polymer from a precursor in which one of the -C-O-P- links of the cyclic structure is replaced by -C-OH HO-P-, or from an organo-soluble metal salt and a hydroxyphosphate corresponding to the antioxidant.
This paper givers a motivation and a mothod for a fast intergration of the reforming countries of... more This paper givers a motivation and a mothod for a fast intergration of the reforming countries of central Europe into the European union. The motivation is based on a model of self-fulfilling prophecies where the expectation of entry can trigger the coordination of expectations towards a fast-growth, catch-up equilibrium, and help central Europe avoid the stagnation equilibrium. The method is a set of conditions and a target date which ensure that the new members will not destabilize the Union but contribute to its development.
Location and climate have large effects on income levels and income growth through their effects ... more Location and climate have large effects on income levels and income growth through their effects on transport costs, disease burdens, and agricultural productivity, among other channels. Geog- raphy also seems to affect economic policy choices. Many geographic regions that have not been conducive to modern economic growth have high population densities and are experiencing rapid increases in population. At particular
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2009
While most of the world has enjoyed exponential economic growth, more than one-sixth of the world... more While most of the world has enjoyed exponential economic growth, more than one-sixth of the world is today roughly as poor as their ancestors were many generations ago. Widely accepted general explanations for the persistence of such poverty have been elusive and are needed by the international development community. Building on a well-established model of human infectious diseases, we show how formally integrating simple economic and disease ecology models can naturally give rise to poverty traps, where initial economic and epidemiological conditions determine the long-term trajectory of the health and economic development of a society. This poverty trap may therefore be broken by improving health conditions of the population. More generally, we demonstrate that simple human ecological models can help explain broad patterns of modern economic organization.
The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of t... more The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peerreviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications.
It is wrong that somebody's chances in life depend so starkly not on their talents or ambitio... more It is wrong that somebody's chances in life depend so starkly not on their talents or ambitions or how hard they work, but on where they were born. Those of us who believe that everyone—not just a few—should have the chance to fulfil their own potential, cannot stand by and watch Africa be left behind by the rest of the world. Our generation is heir to two and a half centuries of economic progress. We can realistically envision a world without extreme poverty by the year 2025 because technological progress enables us to meet basic human needs on a global scale and to achieve a margin above basic needs unprecedented in history… Remarkably, contrary to the dark vision of Thomas Malthus, we can accomplish all this with a world population that is eight times higher than in 1750.
Polymers are rendered more resistant to oxidation by the incorporation of a compound containing a... more Polymers are rendered more resistant to oxidation by the incorporation of a compound containing at least one phosphate grouping in which the phosphorus atom and at least two of the three oxygen atoms attached thereto by single covalent bonds form part of a cyclic structure, the remaining atoms in the ring being carbon atoms, such that when only two of the three said oxygen atoms form part of a cyclic structure the third said oxygen atom is attached to hydrogen, a metal, a metalloid group, an alkyl or substituted alkyl radical or a hindered aryl radical. The compound may be formed in situ in the polymer from a precursor in which one of the -C-O-P- links of the cyclic structure is replaced by -C-OH HO-P-, or from an organo-soluble metal salt and a hydroxyphosphate corresponding to the antioxidant.
This paper givers a motivation and a mothod for a fast intergration of the reforming countries of... more This paper givers a motivation and a mothod for a fast intergration of the reforming countries of central Europe into the European union. The motivation is based on a model of self-fulfilling prophecies where the expectation of entry can trigger the coordination of expectations towards a fast-growth, catch-up equilibrium, and help central Europe avoid the stagnation equilibrium. The method is a set of conditions and a target date which ensure that the new members will not destabilize the Union but contribute to its development.
Location and climate have large effects on income levels and income growth through their effects ... more Location and climate have large effects on income levels and income growth through their effects on transport costs, disease burdens, and agricultural productivity, among other channels. Geog- raphy also seems to affect economic policy choices. Many geographic regions that have not been conducive to modern economic growth have high population densities and are experiencing rapid increases in population. At particular
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2009
While most of the world has enjoyed exponential economic growth, more than one-sixth of the world... more While most of the world has enjoyed exponential economic growth, more than one-sixth of the world is today roughly as poor as their ancestors were many generations ago. Widely accepted general explanations for the persistence of such poverty have been elusive and are needed by the international development community. Building on a well-established model of human infectious diseases, we show how formally integrating simple economic and disease ecology models can naturally give rise to poverty traps, where initial economic and epidemiological conditions determine the long-term trajectory of the health and economic development of a society. This poverty trap may therefore be broken by improving health conditions of the population. More generally, we demonstrate that simple human ecological models can help explain broad patterns of modern economic organization.
Uploads