Global Issues
Anti-Poverty Engineers
Reducing poverty for people at the lower end of the scale would be more powerful than any other form of intervention.
Poverty - Most Popular
Podcast
Maria Eitel - Nike’s Efforts to Empower Young Girls
Nike has taken pains to clean up its act since the media brought public attention to human rights violations in its supplier factories in the 1990s. Through the Nike Foundation, the sports and fitness giant is taking a proactive approach to some of the world's most challenging social problems. In this audio lecture, Nike Foundation president Maria Eitel talks to a Stanford MBA audience about how the organization is focusing on creating economic opportunities for adolescent girls around the world as a means of alleviating poverty.
15 Minutes with Thomas Vander Ark
SSIR Managing Editor Eric Nee spoke with the X Prize Foundation’s president, Thomas Vander Ark, about how prizes can stimulate social innovation.
Is This the Silver Bullet?
Why narrowing the gap between the rich and poor could alleviate many social problems.
Podcast
Peter Eigen - Fighting Corruption at Every Level
Many countries that should be thriving are dragged into poverty and strife by the burden of corruption. The loss goes far beyond the sums that change hands dishonestly; the true price must take the ensuing opportunity costs into account. In this audio lecture, Peter Eigen describes strategies that can be used by companies, governments, and citizens to break the cycle of corruption and lift themselves to more efficient, fair, and honest dealings.
Government
Crushing Corruption
To find out how best to stem corruption in development projects, a Harvard economist conducted a sophisticated experiment in 608 Javanese villages. His results challenge current wisdom: Send in the outside auditors, rather than rely on local monitors.
Business
Fair Trade Spanish
Michael Parker pays his new Spanish tutor $17 less than he paid his old teacher in Iowa. But his new teacher, Yesenia Mateu Grave, takes away double her normal fee. Thanks to Web conferencing, Mateu Grave teaches students around the world from her hometown in Antigua, Guatemala, via a site called Speak Shop, combining audio, video, and online chat for a classroom-like experience.