EconTech

Global war deaths have been substantially underestimated

Research paper: 50 years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia
Globally, war has killed three times more people than previously estimated, and there is no evidence to support claims of a recent decline in war deaths, concludes a study published on BMJ.com.
Current survey-based techniques used to estimate violent [...]

. . . Al Jazeera reports. My question is, has there ever been a situation where a country that was outside the international mainstream made a change in policy due to sanctions. There are the obvious major counter-examples (Cuba, North Korea, Iraq). I cannot think of any evidence that supports the notion that sanctions are [...]

I was surprised to see Drezner approach this in this manner. I know he isn’t a realist, but I still didn’t expect it
Through the prism of history, it’s the “quiet diplomacy” of the Bush administration that will stand out
I see that NSC advisor Stephen Hadley doesn’t think much of a boycott of the [...]

I’m just wondering who has less credibility at this point, the IMF and their bungling of the last major global financial crisis (’97) or the Bush administration and <insert list here>. FT reports a little bit of this skirmish over credibility:

IMF rejects criticism over global turmoil
By Chris Bryant in Washington and George Parker in London
[...]

I like the vision here. America was once an “open club” (well, depending on where you were from, but even then, a lot of immigrant groups were eventually accepted) but now we’ve become a this-is-our-country-get-out-beware-of-dogINS club. I like the older version a lot more, despite the domestic flaws:
Imagine there’s no country….
This blog is a comment [...]

If you’ve been reading me, you know that there is a serious crisis on the horizon (or closer) regarding world grain supplies. PK reviews the trend a bit and points out that your inconvenience at your local mega-mart may very well mean starvation for others. He then reviews the factors of influence:

increased meat consumption in [...]

Well, food prices have been rising for some time, as I’m sure you have noticed at your local mega-mart. Unfortunately (the dismal in dismal science), these prices reflect the reality of world prices, and the world’s poor are feeling it much more than you. Even rice prices are going up, as global rice reserves are [...]

I find it amusing how DeLong dismisses the environmental and labor practices as obviously Good Things (TM) so quickly, when I’ve had so many professors dismiss them as obviously Bad Things (TM) just as quickly. Nevertheless, he has a good discussion that is worth reading.  My little bit of commentary will be on the obviousness [...]

Not exactly breaking news here. And delving into the economic numbers isn’t exactly necessary to indict Putin. But more data is always useful, so here goes. There is more, and if you have an FT subscription it is worth reading, but I don’t want FT getting mad at me for reproducing in full:
Why Putin’s rule [...]

Certainly there are people who fall into line with James’ description here, but plenty of people DO have issues with the way bombing campaigns are conducted. There is a literature on the issues he presents, though he seems to be ignorant of that literature. Debates on casus belli and jus in bello would be a [...]

Dani summarizes for us:
Trade and the great divergence

Opening up to international trade raises the return to skills in advanced economies and reduces it in the less advanced ones, according to the standard factor-endowments story. If human capital accumulation in turn depends on these returns to skills, trade should enhance human capital accumulation in the rich [...]

At least, that is one take on the paper. For people who like to keep up with the minutia (but important minutia!) of development economics, here is one on ITNs for malaria control:
Jeff Sachs vindicated

On insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs), at least.  There has been an ongoing battle between Sachs and segments of the global public [...]

Courtesy of Rodrik’s blog. I do have an issue with the description of what Einstein’s response to data would be but that is mostly irrelevant. Also, while PPP is largely the measure used for adjusting market exchange rates, I wouldn’t call it ‘the key,’ as it has serious shortcomings.
Fact Check, Reality Check? New GDP Data

by [...]

This was posted a long time ago. I probably had something to say, but just put it in my drafts section uncommented. It is still worth reading though:
The Bali Puzzle

The Bali negotiations have laid bare the central issue for climate treaty negotiations: who should pay for climate change. There were two major points of [...]

I think the stab at Obama supporters is totally unnecessary and beside the point. Otherwise, Krugman’s Friday column is worth reading, and largely correct. As a pretty steadfast rule, looking for a hero is a waste of time. There are too few of them to be dependably found for the relevant situation:
A lot of Americans, [...]