Reducing poverty

Longish article in the Economist in the rapid fall of extreme poverty, from 1.9 billion in 1990 to 1.2 billion today, extreme being living on less than $1.25 a day.
http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21578643-world-has-astonishing-chance-take-billion-people-out-extreme-poverty-2030-not

I just note that giving 1.2 billion people $1.25 a day would cost $547 billion a year. Not far off the cost of the US going to war. Compare to global GDP of $71,000 billion nominal, or $83,000 billion PPP. Less than 1% of world income. And giving poor people money seems to be really effective in helping them (shock! surprise!) as you're basically giving capital to the extremely capital-constrained.

http://chrisblattman.com/2013/05/23/dear-governments-want-to-help-the-poor-and-transform-your-economy-give-people-cash/
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/05/unconditional_cash_transfers_giving_money_to_the_poor_may_be_the_best_tool.html
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2012/08/23/eitc_works_higher_benefits_lead_to_better_outcomes_for_kids.html
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/03/want_to_help_people_just_give.html

link dump!

Haven't done one of these in a while.

Boston live bus speeds map. http://bostonography.com/2013/live-mbta-bus-speeds/ Main site links to other neat maps too, like voting demographics http://bostonography.com/2012/blue-and-bluer-massachusetts-and-boston-2012/

Someone at the Economist does a takedown of that "women breadwinners" hand-wringing http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2013/05/women-breadwinners

Two different cases of village development in India. State policy matters. Nationalizing your welfare food distributors helps. http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21566699-rural-india-there-hope-worst-policies-can-be-improved-tale-two-villages

Poland still fighting over IVF. http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2013/05/polish-politics-0

Girl Genius authors have an "Ask Me Anything" on Reddit http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1fcxje/we_are_kaja_and_phil_foglio_creators_of_gir

Squeezing breasts might fight breast cancer. http://news.uk.msn.com/health/squeezing-breasts-can-stop-cancer

Solar panel power costs dropping exponentially. 24/7 reliable power, probably not so much http://www.economist.com/news/21566414-alternative-energy-will-no-longer-be-alternative-sunny-uplands

Crime spree of Christians vandalizing atheist billboards http://www.examiner.com/article/america-s-shameful-christian-crime-spree

libertarians are wrong: Obamacare increasing handwashing in hospitals http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/05/29/hospitals_and_hand_washing.html

libertarians are right: dentists trying to get a monopoly on tooth whitening http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2013/05/28/alabama_tooth_whitening.html

Islamophobes are wrong: most terror incidents in Europe are due to separatists, not Islamists. http://www.loonwatch.com/2011/11/updated-europol-data-less-than-1-of-terrorist-attacks-by-muslims/

Teacher disciplined for telling students of their rights http://reason.com/blog/2013/05/27/high-school-teacher-faces-discipline-for