Links I Liked

Well, the blog makeover has been met with a fine blend of approval and indifference – heart-warming stuff.

The world is getting a lot better in lots of ways, and Max Roser has a graph for all of them

The US is getting a bit of a pasting from assorted economists: Jo Stiglitz thinks it’s on the wrong side of history on tax and other global reforms. Jose Antonio Ocampo agrees – last month’s Financing for Development summit in Addis was a defeat after 13 years of progress on international tax cooperation, says Jose Antonio Ocampo

Positive framing meets climate change denial, thanks to the New Yorker

Does the developing world need a welfare state to eliminate poverty? Some insights from history. [h/t Shanta Devarajan]

Great myth-busting on migration, swarms, Calais etc from Channel 4 News

And it’s off to Africa

Meet the Humans of Kibera, Africa’s largest slum. Pics and interviews modeled on Humans of New York

From strongmen to strong institutions: Africa’s slow transition towards more political contestability by Vera Songwe

Africa wealth report 2015: Inequality growing within countries

Driver v cyclist: this epic confrontation has got 4.5m hits in a week. I’m a London cyclist, but it’s hard to like either of them. But hey, it’s great theatre with a painful-looking denouement. Health warning, the language is pretty ripe. [h/t Finlay Green]