The Difference Between India's Stories and Statistics

There is a village in Southern India called Kadapakkam. It had been a home to farmers and fishermen whose thatched huts had no running water and no electrical appliances. At traditional tea shops located at the side of the local, narrow and potholed road, you could meet a friend. One 62…

Celebrating Economic Independence

Yes, the United States declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and won the American Revolutionary War. But still, we were not truly independent. George Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton knew that true independence required a vibrant economy. He had…

Six Facts About Australia From The "World Cup of Everything Else"

In a long list of categories that they called, “The World Cup of Everything Else,” WSJ created brackets from the 32 World Cup teams and determined the winners. In 6 areas, Australia was #1 or #2: For life expectancy, Australia comes in…

What Golf in China Shows About Economic Development

On a ladder of spending in developing economies, growing affluence first means wheat and meat. Then, climbing somewhat higher, people can afford consumer durables like a washing machine and a car. On a Chinese spending ladder, we could add golf. But it is a…

The Impact of World Cup Soccer On Stock Markets

“Amongst all unimportant subjects, football is by far the most  important.” Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) European Central Bank researchers have hypothesized that World Cup Soccer distracts stock market participants. Using data on trading activity during the 2010 games from 15 International…

Gender Issues: The Invention of Wings

Our Monday gender issues focus Combine 1 great read, 2 crucial issues and 3 memorable women (2 who really existed) and you get The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. Through a lens that focuses on slavery and women’s rights, The…

An Amazing Story From a Graph

Sometimes one graph can tell a whole story:   A 4-minute animation can also convey a much bigger story. Looking at the same time period as our graph, Hans Rosling connects national income and health. National income closely relates to GDP since people receive…

An Unexpected Cost of Climate Change?

Our Wednesday Environment Focus By Madeleine Vance, guest blogger and student at Kent Place School; edited by Elaine Schwartz Global Warming has become more than just a threat to the environment. In the movie “Carbon Nation,” former army colonel Dan Nolan…

Gender Issues: Literate Women

For millennia, men have tried to stop women from learning to read. Before we look back, I wanted to share these World Bank maps that let us see the status of female literacy, 2009-2013 Female Literacy in Developing Nations: Worldwide ratios of female…

Why Do We Need More King Peggys?

Our Monday Gender Issue: Having a woman as the king of an African fishing village can make a big difference. During 2008, a secretary who works at Ghana’s Washington DC embassy  got a middle of the night call at her…