Poverty

A true bargain houseFirst prototype built from MIT’s effort to construct houses for $1,000 each.

Said and DoneHumanities, arts and social sciences digest for July/August 2011.

Taxation without documentationNew study shows ‘informal taxation’ in developing countries is far greater than suspected, supporting public works — and adding a burden for the poor.

In the World: New water-filter factory in GhanaAfter years of development, production of ceramic-pot water filters should soar with opening of new facility.

Life on a dollar a dayIn Poor Economics, Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo open a window into the lives of the world’s poorest people, and suggest new remedies to combat poverty.

Paul Farmer on Rebuilding HaitiSponsored by MIT Program in Science, Technology, and Society, Arthur Miller Lecture on Science and Ethics

Tech support?Contrasting views on display as MIT researchers debate how technology can curb global poverty.

In the World: Turning waste into profitStudents aim to improve Kenyan slum-dwellers’ access to basic sanitation — and generate renewable energy and jobs along the way.

In the World: Health care in the palm of a handMIT-led student team develops mobile-device software to help improve health-care accessibility in remote regions.

Haiti’s plightMIT anthropologist Erica James examines the psychological damage inflicted on the island nation’s inhabitants.

Moving in circlesMIT scholar’s new book scrutinizes the successes and failures of a unique government experiment meant to help America’s urban poor.

In the World: Clean Water for GhanaMIT students help a researcher build a factory that could provide water filters for 1 million people in northern Ghana

Esther Duflo wins Clark medalMIT’s influential poverty researcher heralded as best economist under age 40.

Bill Gates visits MITCalls for a spirit of service

3 Questions: Bill Gates on MITAfter speaking about the importance of giving back, the philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder spoke to MIT News about innovation and learning at MIT

The deep roots of inequalityMIT economics student’s study of Peru shows how practices from hundreds of years ago can influence prosperity today. ‘Pathbreaking,’ says a Harvard economist.

Bill Gates to visit MIT on April 21In a presentation at Kresge Auditorium, the philanthropist will discuss the importance of service.

Data points of lightMIT’s undergraduates fight poverty one statistic at a time, thanks to coordination between the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.

Saving laborPolitical scientist Richard Locke says our system of improving factory conditions around the world is broken.
He proposes a new solution.

'Genius' grant for MIT economistEsther Duflo receives MacArthur Fellowship for transformative work on economic development; has brought field experiments to studies of poverty around the world