The Graun: Médecins sans Frontières (MSF), the Nobel prize-winning organisation working on the frontline in remote and conflict areas, says vaccines bought with UK and other donor governments’ money cost too much and are not designed for the needs of hot and impoverished countries. When the pot of money subsidising
Continue readingTag: development
The Scott Ross: Canada Is R&D-ing A Decline, With Graphs
In 2006 Canada was spending 2% of its Gross Domestic Product on R&D. In 2012 it will spend just 1.69%. While a large portion of the decline is due to the business sector spending less on R&D, the current Conservative government has responded by cutting its own share of spending
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: A Conservative Canada Is An Uncompetitive One
It’s odd that Conservatives advocate competition in the economy when under this Conservative government our economy has only become less competitive. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has recently lowered Canada’s ranking in global economic competitiveness from 12th last year to 14th place in 2012. This has been part of a
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Happy Crashiversary! Are you better off now than you were four years ago?
Four years after Lehman Brothers collapsed, it’s time to take stock of things by asking a stock political question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago? Where you stand on the answer depends on where you sit. Many people, businesses and communities are still struggling to
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: Canadians: Farewell, Bev Oda!
Disgraced ex-Durham MP, Bev Oda, begins her private life today, after a scandalous public life defined by profligacy, scandal, inefficiency and controversy. Canadians offer their final word on the former minister of International Co-operation and MP for Stephen Harper’s Conservative Party of Canada. [View the story “Canadians: Farewell, Bev Oda!”
Continue readingCanadian Progressive World: So Long, Bev Oda! Please Stay Away From The Canadian Senate
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s minister of international co-operation, Bev Oda, officially retires today. A sigh of relief! What a financial burden to the Canadian taxpayer the Conservative MP for the Ontario riding of Durham has been. Oda earned the dubious honor of poster girl for misspending by Tory ministers: $1,000
Continue readingThings Are Good: Mobile Devices for Development
The use of mobiles in development is nothing new; however, it’s always good to remind ourselves how useful this technology can be. Mashable has a list of five reasons mobile devices are good for international development (and in developed nations too). 4. Preserving the Rainforest Brazil’s Surui tribe, a group
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Meilinomics II: Income from Within
The following is another excerpt from Dr. Ryan Meili’s new book, A Healthy Society: How a Focus on Health Can Revive Canadian Democracy, which fellow blogger Greg Fingas has been discussing. The road to Tevele is red sand and sloppy in the rainy season. The pick- up truck bounces in
Continue readingArt Threat: Infographic Weekend: Where does US Food Aid go?
The United States is doing it’s best to feed the world … or at least that’s what they’d like you to believe. US Food Aid may be more effective as a subsidy to domestic producers, agribusiness and shipping companies than it is at alleviating hunger in the poorest parts of
Continue reading350 or bust: TED Talk Thursday: Muhammad Yunus on Social Businesses
I love Professor Yunus’s advice – “Whatever the banks did, I did the opposite. And it worked!” Prof. Muhammad Yunus is a Bangladeshi economist and founder of the Grameen Bank, an institution that provides microcredit to help its clients establish creditworthiness and financial self-sufficiency. In 2006 Yunus and Grameen received
Continue readingThe Scott Ross: The Cost of Conservative Religious Hegemony
How much would you give to protect your own religious freedom? Probably a lot, from money, to political action, to perhaps your life. I suspect you would give comparably to protect that freedom of another Canadian. Now what would you give to protect the religious freedom of only people in
Continue readingThe economy lab, the dark age of free trade theory, and the naive view on natural resources and economic development
Over at the Economy Lab in the Globe which Failed, which itself has gone from bad to worse, one of the economists they keep in their stable has either produced an extraordinarily naive analysis or a dishonest one. I am … Continue reading →
Continue readingA without prejudice rejoinder to the Minister of Finance
On Wednesday of last week the Minister of Finance for Newfoundland and Labrador Thomas Marshall was interviewed by CBC Central Morning about a report I did for the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour (NLFL). In one respect, the fact ……
Continue readingInterview on CBC Central Morning
CBC Radio Central Newfoundland Morning aired an interview they did with me about inequality and the future of development in Newfoundland and Labrador. The pod cast can be found here. It is the last of the three interviews on the … Continue r…
Continue readingInterview on CBC Central Morning
CBC Radio Central Newfoundland Morning aired an interview they did with me about inequality and the future of development in Newfoundland and Labrador. The pod cast can be found here. It is the last of the three interviews on the … Continue r…
Continue readingOccupy Movement: Inequality in Newfoundland and Labrador
Apparently the policy brief I wrote for the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour has been picked up by the Occupy Wall Street movement. The brief can be found here. The money shot from that brief would be the graph … Continue readin…
Continue readingThe food insecure amongst us
Every year the UN-OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) says that 3-4 million (always different) subsistence farmers and pastoralists in a variety of different regions in Ethiopia are food insecure, and thus in need of food aid (ou…
Continue readingIIlicit money flows
Not really into re-blogging articles but this essay effectively puts money laundering and corruption into context. It is useful for explaining key processes in the ‘the web of secrecy, collusions and the players that drive and sustain the world o…
Continue readingThings Are Good: Mobiles Without Borders
International Institute of Mobile Technologies and Engineers Without Borders Toronto have joined forces to create Mobiles without Borders to encourage the use of mobiles in development.
To start things off there’s a networking event happening in Toronto tomorrow Thursday July 7th:
With over 5 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide, mobile technology is becoming more than a form […]
eaves.ca: CIDA announces Open Data portal: What it means to Canadians
For those who missed it, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has announced it is launching an open data portal. This is exciting news. On Monday I was interviewed about the initiative by Embassy Magazine which published the resulting article (behind their paywall) here. As (I hope) the interview conveys, I’m cautiously optimistic about the […]
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