Last call for posts

OK class... here's a shot at some blogging credit.

What topics did you think were the most interesting? The least? Why?

Was there a topic that you wish we had spent more time on? Less? Why?

How do you feel about the study of the economics of growth and development? Hard? Easy? Confusing?

Of all the topics we covered this term, which do you feel deserves more (or less) attention in terms of the public's general knowledge?

Collier on post-conflict resolution

Here's a video of Paul Collier at the US State Department discussing the keys to rebuilding war torn nations.

He emphasizes the importance of security before politics and discusses the economics of peacekeeping.

What are key elements to this approach?

Foreign Aid

Here are some readings and viewings on the pros and cons of foreign aid:

Various views at the Guardian.

Dambisa Moyo voices her strong objection to aid for Africa at the NYT.

Here's Moyo at the Colbert Report.

Moyo and Sachs argue at the Huffington Post here and here.

Bill Gates at Time.

Collier

Here's a video of Paul Collier discussing a few steps toward reversing the downward trend for the bottom billion. Note the importance of governance and the perils of "instant democracy". These have obvious implications for transitions currently underway in north Africa and the middle east. He also discusses the resource curse, and mentions "verified auctions" as a potential way to prevent backroom deals for extraction rights. The idea is that anyone interested in being a buyer or seller of the commodity must be backed by an objective third party (hence verified as a legitimate participant). The third party would presumably be an international agency.