The Nobel Laureates Guide to the Smartest Targets for the World 2016-2030 by Bjørn Lomborg


The Nobel Laureates Guide to the Smartest Targets for the World 2016-2030
Title : The Nobel Laureates Guide to the Smartest Targets for the World 2016-2030
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : -
Language : English
Format Type : Kindle Edition
Number of Pages : 155
Publication : Published November 1, 2015

In 2000, the Millennium Development Goals set a few, highly effective targets for the world, e.g. halve the proportion of poor and reduce childhood mortality by two-thirds. These targets have been a huge success. Now, the world must decide its targets for the next 15 years. The UN has proposed 169 targets, but not all are equally effective. Copenhagen Consensus has asked 60 teams of the world s top economists to weigh up the social, environmental and economic benefits and costs of 100+ targets across 22 global topics from Air Pollution and Education to Water. The world will spend $2.5 trillion on these targets 2016-2030. Picking the best targets can triple the benefits for the world s poorest. This book can help us choose better.

The Nobel Laureates Guide to the Smartest Targets for the World 2016-2030 Reviews

  • Jose CruzyCelis

    I really believe Bjorn's work and any work related to prioritizing the worlds issues is crucial for humanity. Therefore I am a big fan of anyone putting effort in this endeavor.

    In regards to the book, I liked it , I think Bjorn does a good job of analyzing the best bang for the buck we can have as humanity to alleviate poverty "the worst form of violence". Where I think he fails is in give a clear understanding of how the benefits of spending X dollars are calculated. For example: He states that "As well as the perils of prematurity, birth complications and sepsis are significant causes of deaths of young babies. Proper care can have a really big impact, but it costs money to build more clinics and train and pay more doctors and nurses: about $14 billion a year to hit the target of a 70% reduction in neonatal deaths, according to estimates. That sounds a lot, but the benefits are much bigger at more than $120 billion annually. For each dollar spent, we will help the world’s newborn about $9"

    How is this $9 calculated we never know, how are human quality years calculated in usd is never known. So I think first a clear consensus and understanding on this is a crucial foundation on where to build from.

    Having no idea how these benefits are calculated is hard to have great confidence in his proposals. Even though these calculations were supposedly done by the best economists we still need to see their calculations, even just a diagram or whatever. We need clearer thinking in this regard if we want these ideas to reach the mainstream and to make it easy and reliable to anybody that needs to hear them.