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Climate Change

Climate change is affecting the world’s poorest countries in numerous ways. As well as the first to be affected, the poorest are also hit hardest as they are less equipped to cope with the effects. In these blogs we’ll be looking at the impact of climate change in the developing world and what DFID is doing to help poor countries adapt.

What Economics can (and can't) tell us, Part 3: Prioritising Women

A few days ago, a report by the UK’s Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), declared that over 5,000 women were missing from the top jobs in the UK. If you’re a development economist, you might recognise the language from Amartya …

What economics can (and can’t) tell us, part 2: Getting the best deals

I don’t know about you but I always dread “that time of the year” when I have to revise all my contracts – home insurance, energy, water, and so on.  I dread it so much that I usually stick to the …

What economics can (and can't) tell us, part 1: carbon taxes

On my first day as a civil servant, my new boss asked, “So, Hannah, what would you say are the three key concepts in economics?”  I was tongue-tied – it felt like a trick question. What three concepts could I …

Why we need to test cash transfers for climate change

As a development economist, I’m itching to read Poor Economics, the new book by the amazing Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee. Unfortunately, it's not yet widely available in UK bookshops. Thankfully, there’s a wonderful visual web version of the book's key findings, …