From Plow to Prosperity
Babban Gona provides the capital and means to move Nigeria’s poor farmers from a life of subsistence to economic security—and a model for alleviating poverty across Africa.
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Economic Development Social innovations that improve the living standards of the poor
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A Fair Deal for Coffee Growers
Vega Coffee lifts up struggling coffee growers in Latin America by enabling them to roast, package, and ship their own beans directly to US customers—and reinvents the supply chain in the process.
The Problem of Social Benefit
Economists have obsessed over the question of negative externalities, but market arrangements can also generate positive externalities. We should consider how to harness them for public good. | Open access to this article made possible by Harvard Business School Division of Research and Faculty Development
Building Relationships, Strengthening Neighborhoods
Systems change efforts that focus on boosting social capital and collective efficacy through building relationships within communities show promise. But do we have the patience to wait for them to work?
Bringing Evidence-Based Policy Change to Rural China
Stanford University’s Rural Education Action Program has established a one-of-a-kind research collaborative among Chinese, US, and European universities to improve the lot of rural Chinese families. Its success shows the potential of applying scientific methods to development and forging global partnerships for social impact.
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The Problem With Fair Trade Coffee
Fair Trade-certified coffee is growing in sales, but strict certification requirements are resulting in uneven economic advantages for coffee growers and lower quality coffee for consumers.
Innovative Solutions for the Housing Crisis
Six pathways to making housing more affordable and available from the Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability.
The Profit in Nonprofit
Why Kiva chose to be a 501(c)(3), what this tax status buys the organization, and how being a nonprofit poses challenges.
Beyond the Poverty Line
A new approach to measuring poverty is needed, one that accounts for multiple factors such as housing, and regional economic differences.
Beyond ‘X Number Served’
To cure the social sector’s metric monomania, we must get comfortable with complexity.