The flood of bonkers/depressing stories from the US continued last week. The Economist spoke for many.
Plane flight delayed because alert passenger noticed Arabic-influenced mathematics (confusing Al-gebra with Al-Qaeda?)
PEPFAR wasted $1.4 billion telling people not to have sex. Way to go, guys.
But it’s not all bad. Turns out Obama did a lot more than just reform healthcare. One of many positive first drafts of history.
Now back to the rest of the world:
IMF warns of growing inequality in India and China, [h/t Nisha Agrawal]
A new Social Progress Index ranks countries against a 12 indicator mash up. Designed by economists, yet none of the indicators is about the economy. Go figure.
Responding to disasters is not just about getting people food, water and cash. The case for a global crisis education fund from the ODI.
Nice piece (despite random, misleading title) on rethinking how economics students are taught about/deal with data
And finally, the surprising (and decidedly unscientific) history of the word ‘Caucasian’. Intriguing 4m video [h/t Chris Blattman]