Development reads this week
It’s finally summer (in the northern hemisphere, that is) — and in the United States, a long weekend awaits. Here are a few of our favorite beachside development reads. Enjoy!
Monopolies Are Killing America
By Ross Baird and Ben Wrobel in The Development Set
Strong words.
“While, at first glance, America has become more free for women, people of color, and others who weren’t landed gentry in 1776, I’d argue that thanks to monopolies, American freedom is quickly in decline — and because of the unchecked power of big enterprise, we’re on the road to serfdom.
“It’s never been better to be a big company in America, but it has rarely been a worse time to be an entrepreneur.”
India and the Visible Hand of the Market
By Kaushik Basu in The New York Times
Like many Indians abroad, I had an instinctive feeling that demonetization was a bad move. I didn’t know until reading this, however, that 86% of the value of all currency was taken out of circulation — or the limited effect it had on reducing corruption.
New Moms Can Get Depressed. Why Don’t Doctors Take Them Seriously?
By Sushmita Pathak in The Development Set
Hundreds of thousands of American women have experienced post-partum depression. There’s no reason why they should fall through the cracks.
(Side note: Thank you to all of the brave people who responded to Pathak’s feature story with your own tales. You are not alone.)
The Race to Solar-Power Africa
By Bill McKibben in The New Yorker
“A decade ago, most experts would have predicted that foreign aid, rather than venture capital, would play a central role in bringing power to sub-Saharan Africa.”
Stopping Pandemics Before They Start
By Tina Rosenberg in The New York Times
This is one of the few global health stories I read that could be turned into an action movie. Who’s on board?
