• Fukushima ist noch nicht vorbei — Strahlung neues Maximum und 100.000 Tonnen hoch radioaktives Wasser in der Ruine http://j.mp/jv36vX #
• #travelinsight 54: Decentralized waste incineration is a bad idea. But there is no garbage collection in place here, while trash there is… #
• How the new Egypt government changes the game for Israel http://j.mp/jHl9tc And some „old news“ we should keep in mind about the Gaza „jail“ #
• US prison system dimensions and illusions: „we pay poor unemployed rural whites to guard poor unemployed urban blacks“ http://j.mp/iHGSOX #
• Well-argued case for publishing peer-review comments with the articles, anonymous or not http://j.mp/jtgr2u #science #
• #travelinsight 53: #postbank mobileTAN is so handy when traveling I only need my mobile phone for online banking. Yeah 21st century! #
• Career advice for post-tenure economists (& others) http://j.mp/iPKrj1 increases my hope that good life and success go together in academia #
• Thought-provoking „Male Privilege Checklist“ http://j.mp/iJpZOr Scary to see how different gender worlds still are, and my own ignorance #
• Technology, liking, loving http://j.mp/ixfVrF #NYTimes #Op-Ed on how technology pulls us away from real life. Surprisingly deep thoughts! #
• Critique of the „find yourself“ mantra for college graduates http://j.mp/jlFRQy Talk of a „calling“ touches big philosophical themes. Good! #
• American doctors: incentives change political positions http://j.mp/mdvtSA Is it really only that? #
• With a nudge from the government and consumers‘ minds changed by fuel prices, American companies learn to build compacts http://j.mp/lK5BWk #

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Following my economic observations and reflections on Development Aid here in Tanzania, I did some reading on microcredit, which seemed to me now maybe one of the most sensible things to do to stimulate development. My first-hand impression of some other obvious choices has not been very good so far — I am quite doubtful of the real-life benefit of the secondary education the students get in the school I am teaching in, for instance.

The articles I found convinced me that I wasn’t wrong entirely thinking microcredit could help. But there’s a big BUT, or a number of them actually. An article in the New Yorker from 2008 titled What Microloans Miss provides a very readable introduction, but my primary source is an article called Microfinance Misses Its Mark from Aneel Karnani, published in the 2007 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. It says that, first of all, microcredits help the not-so-poor better than the poorest:

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The evolutionary side of human behavior is something which is always good for heated discussions, having strong implications for important social issues. And often enough, people criticizing the evolutionary perspective find themselves in the trap of being seemingly unscientific. This, I believe, is a symptom of how the prevailing positivist („objectivist“) understanding of science is narrowing the scientific discourse, and the public discourse about science. But „political correctness“ is not the only way to oppose these (pseudo)evolutionary arguments.

I liked watching the first few classes of Robert Sapolsky’s „Human Behavioral Evolution“ course at Stanford from 2010, which are available for free on iTunes U (yes, you need iTunes). Even though the pointedness and entertainment of his arguments can be a little too much for a European audience, I highly recommend it for everybody who wants to fill in gaps in his or her understanding of evolution. And for people who consider themselves solid on the basics, I recommend a 20-minute summary of the criticism of evolutionary biology, at least as it is perceived and used by the public. I’m talking about the last 20 minutes, starting at 1:14, of the lecture 3 — Behavioral Evolution II (April 2, 2010). Here is a brief summary:

[…]

• Why G8 „emerging democracies“ aid is too low and weak http://j.mp/mcCf9D and how it compares to former debt relieve for military support #
• A thorough look at the electricity markets to show how wind energy fluctuations are priced in and mostly unproblematic http://j.mp/inukgv #
• „publication planning agencies“ — pharma companies write journal articles, then pay renowned „authors“ http://j.mp/jSHLEk science & business #
• First German offshore wind farm in operation http://j.mp/lLsiJH 21 x 2.3 MW, some 50,000 households‘ worth of electricity. Yay! #
• Scroll a little down for a discussion of how Obama adopts the „Israeli-Zionist Narrative“ on Palestine http://j.mp/lINWQq absurd, disturbing #
• Touching portray of an African „illegalized“ immigrant to Spain http://j.mp/l6SNyt And then they keep the image up for people at home! #
• Parents not revealing their baby’s gender. Amazing idea. http://j.mp/m7iiy3 Think about why that’s so shocking! What does it change? #
• Good news from Israel’s people and Jewish Americans on peace http://j.mp/lBtkmt see also my party donations post earlier http://j.mp/jnLucM #
• As usual, very concise summary & comment of the „Arab Spring“ on Informed Comment http://j.mp/k3c5FO Mubarak, Egypt-Palestine, Yemen, Libya #
• More big money sneaking into US election campaigns through „independent“ organizations http://j.mp/jTRn2n In relative silence. #
• Puzzling power game between Obama and Congress over Libya http://j.mp/iiG1IG Why doesn’t he just put his war for democracy up for vote? #
• Aus gegebenem Anlass der zu weit gereisten Gurken http://j.mp/kG0uT7 Slow-Food, Emstäler Knorpelkirschen, brüderlich vereint in Vielfalt #
• What is it like to grow up with parents who believe the world will end soon? http://j.mp/jCimiN Nice perspective often forgotten. #
• How crazy can „pro-life“ anti-abortionism get? Very. In the House? Very. http://j.mp/m4ZE6i A reasonable woman should be prepared for rape. #
• Brilliant, sad-funny argument on extreme weather events and climate change http://j.mp/joD4u4 Some sad sad US politics mentioned too. Obama! #
• Criminology has something to think about now http://j.mp/jYbY3U Crime rates in the US falling substantially at most unexpected time. Why?! #
• Supreme Court rules for California to release 30,000 (~20%) of its prison population http://j.mp/kTjgyE to no more than 137.5% capacity … #
• Seems the political tide in the US is already turning again http://j.mp/mJQfTf I knew I could have faith in Americans #
• #InformedComment sides with Obama on the Israel Borders Issue http://j.mp/lO1YJM and has sinister predictions for Netanyahu’s course #
• #travelinsight 52: Karanga! Totally addicted to the local roasted peanuts, fresh and delicious. A lot of food here that I’ll miss at home! #
• Tea Party is their own anger exposure #psychotherapy Maybe there is some truth (and good!) in habituation after all http://j.mp/jv8Y60 #
• Interesting thoughts on reporting (sexual) harassment http://j.mp/mm8CFR in the end probably goes to show that reporting is always difficult #
• Pakistanische Journalistin über den Stand der Emanzipation in Deutschland http://j.mp/kcvma8 Warum kultureller Austausch so wichtig ist #
• Schooling without learning. The drama of developing countries‘ education system, example India http://j.mp/luAGkh Probably worse in Tanzania #
• I’m happy to find that a huge number of evolutionary psychologists have spoken up against the black-women-ugly-n-dumb guy http://j.mp/jBRGZX #
• Introduction to strong or weak currency — exchange rate issues in very readable #nytimes column http://j.mp/mBuIER Nice! #
• Re-analysis refutes the black-women-attractiveness scandal http://j.mp/jvPOvR Almost touching to see the struggle in a positivist mindset #
• My job prospects in therapy seem to be wonderful http://j.mp/iS10Xb Still sad. And shows that gender equality has to go both ways somehow. #

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Via a post on Crooked Timber aptly titled „Ghostwriters of Science“ I got to read a science article in the guardian, and googling around found an actual journal publication by Richard Smith, a long-time editor and chief executive with BMJ (the British Medical Journal, one of the high-impact medical journals), which criticizes the same mix-up under the title „Medical Journals Are an Extension of the Marketing Arm of Pharmaceutical Companies“ (May 2005 Issue of PLoS Medicine).

The picture that presents itself is shocking. A majority of randomized controlled trials of drugs is funded by the respective companies by now, they adhere to high scientific standards and are published in high-ranking peer-reviewed journals, and they still manage to be deceptive — for instance, being four times more likely to yield favorable results than independently funded studies in one comparison. How?

[…]

Special thanks to Matze for pointing me to the first ever (even though humorous) example of something I have been asking and looking for for a long time: In allusion to the „Reflexive Social Psychology“ I had the pleasure to attend with Heiner Keupp in Munich I’d like to call it „Reflexive Economics“.

The idea is to, as a social scientist, be aware of the impact of one’s theorizing in the „object“ studied, and also of the fact that you are subject and object of your theories at the same time, because as a social (and in our times also unavoidably economical) being you are always also explaining your own behavior. Let’s have more of that, and more serious!

But this is a good start. The topic chosen as a humorous exercise in the article by Ariel Rubinstein titled „Freak-Freakonomics“, published in Economists’ Voice in 2006, is the hugely popular 2005 book „Freakonomics“ by Levitt and Dubner, which I partly read and (I think like Rubinstein) both enjoyed and felt a little uneasy about.

Let’s start with his definition of the problem of lacking reflexivity:

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In introducing a friend here to my „Monty Python Sings!“ collection, I realize two things: First, the range of things they ridicule is immense — religion, philosophy, medicine, sexuality, … Second, it can be quite hard to explain what Monty Python is all about, with this mixture of offense and nonsense. And this brought me back to an incidence where they (John Cleese, that is) explained that themselves — in a formidable Eulogy at Graham Chapman’s funeral. Here’s what he said towards the end:

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• DSK: A semi-open marriage made public http://j.mp/lgeEf1 „As long as he is still attracted to me, and I to him, it is sufficient.“ Hm. Hmmm. #
• Stolen Valor Act — the crime of pretending to be a military hero http://j.mp/lq1Llg In what kind of society would this crime be wide-spread? #
• Sex and Religion: We’re all doing pretty much the same stuff. Believers just feel worse about it. http://j.mp/mTslC9 #cautionorhumoradvised #
• School funding — irony can be so enlightening http://j.mp/lPyd6N And who doesn’t get it, too http://j.mp/kQ2APx (different topic) #
• #travelinsight 51: I’ll never say cool again. There is an abundance of much nicer words of appreciation here. Shwanga! (for Germans… #
• Informed comment has Obama’s Middle East address http://j.mp/lrZs4X and a thoughtful comment analyzing pros and cons http://j.mp/lQWg71 #
• Important comment on DSK case: illegal immigrants‘ lack of access to law enforcement & astronomic sexual assault numbers http://j.mp/kwP93C #
• Well-argued and devastating critique of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his public defenders http://j.mp/m6rDia Bad bad taste in my mouth. #
• Sind Gleichstellungsbeauftragte auch für Männer da? Spannende Kontroverse http://j.mp/iEZaGU Ich finde: ja, aus vielerlei Gründen. #
• #travelinsight 49: What percentage of „Hello, can you hear me?!“ of total talk time can you tolerate in a Skype call? #
• #travelinsight 48: My mosquito technique now: Long pants, thick socks and killing the ones approaching my bare arms. Works most of the time. #
• More stimulus evaluation: via Krugman a thorough critical appraisal of the critique http://j.mp/iyzZUm & a positive paper http://j.mp/lTh9Ec #
• What Mankiw lauds as „empirical findings“ http://j.mp/m5eTVF is „Stupid Stimulus Tricks“ to Krugman http://j.mp/kFEb1Y #StimulusBill #
• http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2011/05/evaluating-arra.html #
• Twitter & co go newspaper: Interesting website, I’m curious how that will evolve http://paper.li/ #
• Odd-angle perspective on freedom, pleasure, capitalism, minorities, feminism, even Israel http://j.mp/l9MA8Z Awesome! #EllenWillis #
• It seems Qaddafi’s International Criminal Court indictment changes a lot in Libya by deterring his „friends“ http://j.mp/jRP8QK Good! #
• #travelinsight 47: Great fun teaching Ultimate Frisbee to rural Tanzanian Students. They’re so enthusiastic! Thank you Auroville Spinergy! #
• Vroniplag, Geißel der Plagiatoren http://j.mp/iMD5ww nach Wikileaks die nächste Wikisierung des öffentlichen Lebens. Die Welt ändert sich! #
• Syrien — Unterdrückung funktioniert, wenn genügend profitieren? http://j.mp/m0gwJM Spannend, über Wege vorwärts nachzudenken. #
• Kapital und Bildung — Stiftung Lesen wird Schleichwerbung vorgeworfen http://j.mp/ja5pHQ Schade! Wem würde man vertrauen wenn nicht denen? #
• Die ZEIT hat für mich eine Geschichte guter Kanzlerinnen-Interviews. Diesmal windet sich Merkel allerdings recht hilflos http://j.mp/mpCBdV #
• I need to travel eastern Europe again! Amazing abandoned monuments from the 70s in former Yugoslavia http://j.mp/ihrrPC great pictures too! #
• Mieter subventionieren Photovoltaik — Entrechtung von Mietern unter dem Deckmantel des Klimaschutzes http://j.mp/jzVvxV Gute Idee, FDP! #
• Declining college learning outcomes — sociological critique of education markets with a touch of disgruntled old man talk http://j.mp/kNXc1A #
• The „Decline Effect“ — why replication of experiments fails so often, and what that means for science http://j.mp/kvzIuB #

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I finally managed to take some pictures of my „Sports & Games“ afternoon highlight, playing Ultimate Frisbee with a bunch of students and some teachers, with the disc I brought from India. I will try to find one to leave here, but I would very much dislike to part with this one. Also, some more commented pictures from the school and life in general.

[…]

One thing that living in a poor, rural part of Africa certainly does change is my perspective on economy. While I feel confident to say that the huge majority of things on sale in Germany, the US, or most of Europe don’t do much to improve people’s well-being or happiness (and many probably make it worse, at least if you take into account the work done to pay for them, and their effect on the environment) things are very obviously different here.

[…]