The Nobel Laureates Guide to the Smartest Targets for the World - Softcover

Bjørn Lomborg

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1940003121 ISBN 13: 9781940003122

Publisher: Copenhagen Consensus Center, 2015

Synopsis

New edition. In September 2015, the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled Transforming our world. It replaced the Millennium Development Goals consisting of a few, highly effective targets for the world, e.g. halve the proportion of poor and reduce childhood mortality by two-thirds. These targets have been a huge success. Now, the world must decide its targets for the next 15 years. The UN has proposed 169 targets for 2030, but not all are equally effective. Copenhagen Consensus has asked 60 teams of the world s top economists to weigh up the social, environmental and economic benefits and costs of 100+ targets across 22 global topics from Air Pollution and Education to Water. The world will spend $2.5 trillion on these targets 2016-2030. Picking the best targets can triple the benefits for the world s poorest. This book can help us choose better.

About this title

Review

Stephen J. DUBNER: Hey podcast listeners. The episode you re about to hear is called Fixing the World, Bang-for-the-Buck Edition. In it, you ll hear how a bunch of economists have teamed up to measure the ROI, or return on investment, for the development goals set by the United Nations. In other words: if you only have $100 or, in the case of the UN, $100 billion let s say to fight something like global poverty, what s the best way to spend that money? What s the ROI on early education vs. job training vs. small-business subsidies? /.../ --FREAKONOMICS podcast 10/02/2014

Champions of aid aren't used to having their homework marked in this stark fashion, and some didn't like it at first. As Ambassador Elizabeth M. Cousens, the U.S. representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, told Mr. Lomborg, I really don't like you putting one of my favorite targets in red. But she added, I'm glad you re saying it, because we all need to hear economic evidence that challenges us. Having gone through this useful document myself, I found myself in full sympathy with those forced to choose among them. But at least this sort of analysis provides some rigor and direction. --The Wall Street Journal, Matt Ridley, author of The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves and a member of the British House of Lords

We welcome this contribution form the Copenhagen Consensus Center and remain confident that it, along with all ideas and similar initiatives from civil society stakeholders, will enrich the deliberations. --Amina Mohammed, Special Advisor to the Secretary General of the United Nations on Post-2015 Development Planning

About this edition

• Publisher: Copenhagen Consensus Center
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1940003121
• ISBN 13: 9781940003122
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 154
• Editor: Bjorn Lomborg