Links I Liked

Not new but bears repeating/retweeting: “The number of people in extreme poverty fell by 130,000 since yesterday”. Should have been headline news every day since 1990. Thanks Max Roser.

World Bank chief economist Paul Romer forced to give up management of WB research department, having alienated a lot of his colleagues. His crimes included ‘asking for shorter emails and insisting presentations get straight to the point’. Here’s his internal blog post on good writing, which he subsequently made public.

Scorecard diplomacy: How grades drive behaviour in international relations. Indexes and league tables as a new form of soft power.

Some Oxfam plugs:

Nigeria 1960-2005: $20 trillion stolen from the Treasury by public office holders. That’s a lot of zeroes (13). From the new Oxfam Nigeria inequality report

How do we measure women’s empowerment? Latest from Oxfam’s good ‘Real Geek’ platform introduces a new ‘how to’ guide

And back to the mesmerizing spectacle of US politics:

Details of White House proposed aid cuts. Down 32% on 2017 levels. Humanitarian, long term development, peacekeeping all scheduled for cuts. Let’s hope Congress steps up.

Trump body language came under scrutiny on social media. Gimme the handshake, gimme the limelight.

Is China’s humungous One Belt One Road scheme a better development policy than Western aid? Branko Milanovic typically thoughtful and challenging.

Extraordinary film making. Extraordinary lives. Syria’s tragedy is not just about its children