Friday, July 27, 2007

Poor nations need more science

From a BBC report:

Poor nations are being sapped of the technology they need to break the poverty trap and catch up with the rest of the world, the UN has said.

Its trade and development agency Unctad used its annual report on Least Developed Countries to look at the role of science, technology and innovation.

Rather than being luxuries, they are necessities to help economies that are underdeveloped to grow, Unctad argues.
Could not agree more!
The full report is available for download free here. Have not read it yet as it is substantial...

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Happiness as a national goal

A very interesting report by Richard Layard:
The first thing we know is that in the last 50 years average happiness
has not increased at all in Britain, nor in the United States, despite
massive increases in living standards.
Basically he says that once minimum needs are satisfied, happiness does not increase with wealth. Of course religion has been saying this for millenia. He also notes that:
We should also persist with income redistribution, since an extra pound or dollar gives more happiness to poor people than to the rich. That argument also implies redistribution to the Third World.
Statesmen take note...

Climate change grant

Excellent news!

From the Stabroek News:
The Government of Guyana and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) yesterday signed an agreement for a grant of US$455,000 ($93M) to assist in Guyana meeting its obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC).
See article.