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Marc F. Bellemare Posts

Published January 25, 2011

Economic Growth Seen from Outer Space

Laura Freschi over at Aid Watch has just posted an interesting map that shows the amount of light that can be seen from outer space and which Henderson et al. (NBER, 2009) have used as a proxy for economic growth.

The map of the world is interesting in itself, but I find the 1992 and 2008 maps of the Korean peninsula to be more impressive, as they show how much economic growth took place in South Korea, but not in North Korea. Likewise, the map of Rwanda before, during, and after the genocide of 1994 is impressive.

(H/T: Eric Green, via Twitter)

Published January 24, 2011

Development Policy Quote of the Week

“[I]n the world of development, good intentions can often have negative consequences. Unfortunately, the result of such good works is that many villagers now see volunteers and development workers as little more than easily tapped sources of funding for projects that, if the communities were truly interested, could have been initiated by the villagers themselves. (…) Economic development is a relay that takes place over generations, and no single runner can expect to finish the race. Members of the Peace Corps do the most service where they cheer, but do not lead, local development activities.”

— Robert L. Strauss, former Peace Corps Volunteer in Liberia and former Peace Corps country director in Cameroon, in response to a New Yorker article on Peace Corps volunteer Rajeev Goyal.