Philippe Legrain

New research by Maxim Pinkovskiy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Xavier Sala‐i‐Martin, Columbia University and NBER finds that The conventional wisdom that Africa is not reducing poverty is wrong. Using the methodology of Pinkovskiy and Sala‐i‐Martin (2009), we estimate income distributions, poverty rates, and inequality and welfare indices for African countries for the period 1970‐2006. We show […]

Jenny Abura on the benefits of migrants' remittances to Uganda Remittances to Latin America are falling Ecuador, which receives most of its remittances from recession-hit Spain, suffered a 22% fall in the last three months of 2008. Finland's former finance minister on the need to protect the world's poor from the consequences of falling remittances

It is well known that the money that immigrants send home is the biggest – and best-targeted – source of development aid to poor countries. But immigration can also spur an increase in official government aid – in a bid to improve conditions in poor countries and thus deter their citizens from migrating. El Pais […]

A fascinating article in this week’s Economist explains how mobile phones can help promote development. The spread of mobile phones has allowed fishermen in the Indian region of Kerala to call while at sea to find out where their catch will fetch the highest price. This more efficient market benefited everyone. Fishermen’s profits rose by […]