''More Than Good Intentions: How a New Economics is Helping to Solve Global Poverty'' is a non-fiction book by

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

Dean Karlan Dean Karlan is an American development economist. He is Professor of Economics and Finance at Northwestern University where, alongside Christopher Udry, he co-founded and co-directs the Global Poverty Research Lab at Kellogg School of Management. ...

and field researcher Jacob Appel published in 2011. It combines insights from

behavioral economics Behavioral economics studies the effects of psychological, cognitive, emotional, cultural and social factors on the decisions of individuals or institutions, such as how those decisions vary from those implied by classical economic theory. ...

with field

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

from

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed Industrial sector, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is al ...

to discuss and evaluate

international development International development or global development is a broad concept denoting the idea that societies and countries have differing levels of economic development, economic or human development (humanity), human development on an international scal ...

and

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse < ...

-alleviation programs. The authors describe the book as “...a new way to understand what really works to reduce poverty...”

Publishing information

The book was published by

Dutton Press Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initiall ...

in April 2011 as a 320-page hardcover ().

Overview

The book attempts to cut a middle path between two poles of the public debate about global development: on one side, the argument that current approaches to

poverty reduction Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation, is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty. Measures, like those promoted by Henry George in his economics clas ...

could be successful if simply given more

funding Funding is the act of providing resources to finance a need, program, or project. While this is usually in the form of money, it can also take the form of effort or time from an organization or company. Generally, this word is used when a firm us ...

; on the other, the argument that present efforts are fundamentally flawed. It also discusses current and emerging development programs and their impacts. Karlan and Appel present their own work and draw on the

of many others in a variety of fields including

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analy ...

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peop ...

, and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

. The authors argue that small changes in banking, insurance, health care, and other development initiatives that take into account human

irrationality Irrationality is cognition, thinking, talking, or acting without inclusion of rationality. It is more specifically described as an action or opinion given through inadequate use of reason, or through emotional distress or cognitive deficiency. ...

can drastically improve the well-being of the

poor Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income< ...

. Concluding, they present a takeaway consisting of seven ideas proven to be effective in development: Microsavings, reminders to save, prepaid fertilizer sales,

deworming Deworming (sometimes known as worming, drenching or dehelmintization) is the giving of an anthelmintic drug (a wormer, dewormer, or drench) to a human or animals to rid them of helminths parasites, such as roundworm, flukes and tapeworm. Pur ...

, remedial education in small groups,

chlorine Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is ...

dispensers for clean water, and the use of commitment devices.

Structure

The book combines reporting on academic research with journalistic anecdotes from the authors’ experiences conducting research in developing countries and is primarily considered to be part of the economics

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

. The book is divided into 12

chapters Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box booksto ...

, each focused on an activity common to all

socioeconomic Socioeconomics (also known as social economics) is the social science that studies how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes. In general it analyzes how modern societies progress, stagnate, or regress because of their l ...

levels, such as “To Buy”, “To Learn”, and “To Mate."

Research methods

The authors draw upon economic tools, psychological insights and empirical studies in their discussion of global poverty issues. Publishers Weekly Review (Apr.)
/ref> They apply concepts from the discipline of behavioral economics, an approach featured in the popular press books ''

Predictably Irrational ''Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions'' is a 2008 book by Dan Ariely, in which he challenges readers' assumptions about making decisions based on rational thought. Ariely explains, "My goal, by the end of this book ...

'' (

Dan Ariely Dan Ariely ( he, דן אריאלי; born April 29, 1967) is an Israeli-American professor and author. He serves as a James B. Duke Professor of psychology and behavioral economics at Duke University. Ariely is the founder of the research inst ...

, 2008) and '' Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness'' (

Richard Thaler Richard H. Thaler (; born September 12, 1945) is an American economist and the Charles R. Walgreen Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In 2015, Thaler was ...

and

Cass Sunstein Cass Robert Sunstein (born September 21, 1954) is an American legal scholar known for his studies of constitutional law, administrative law, environmental law, law and behavioral economics. He is also ''The New York Times'' best-selling autho ...

, 2008), as well as traditional empirical economics and

econometrics Econometrics is the application of statistical methods to economic data in order to give empirical content to economic relationships.M. Hashem Pesaran (1987). "Econometrics," '' The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics'', v. 2, p. 8 p. 8� ...

. The authors advocate for the use of

randomized control trials A randomized controlled trial (or randomized control trial; RCT) is a form of scientific experiment used to control factors not under direct experimental control. Examples of RCTs are clinical trials that compare the effects of drugs, surgical te ...

(RCTs)—a

quantitative research Quantitative research is a research strategy that focuses on quantifying the collection and analysis of data. It is formed from a deductive approach where emphasis is placed on the testing of theory, shaped by empiricist and positivist philos ...

method—to measure the impacts of poverty alleviation programs.

Quotation

:“When we think about poverty…in concrete terms, we begin to see a path forward. Actually, many paths forward. The possible solutions are as numerous and as varied as the people they serve and the needs they address. To find them we need to think creatively, cast a wide net, and recognize that we are unlikely to find one single answer for everybody. At the same time, we must be methodical and tenacious. If a development program is supposed to help solve a specific, concrete problem, let’s put it to a specific, concrete test. If it passes, great. If not, fix it or try something else. In this way, step by step, we can refine the tools we use and the ways we use them; we can make real progress against poverty.” (38)

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Book Website
2011 non-fiction books Books about poverty Dutton Penguin books Development economics