[I wish I had posted this on April 26*.]
Bjorn Lomborg in Slate:
The Copenhagen Consensus project, which I direct, provides a link between academic research and concrete economic analysis that can be used by decision-makers in the real world. Every four years, researchers and Nobel laureates work to identify the smartest responses to the biggest problems facing humanity. ...
This May, more than 30 Nobel laureates and researchers will work together once again to identify the smartest ways to respond to global challenges, based on the latest information about the toughest problems facing our world. ...
First, teams of world-renowned expert economists write research papers on the costs and benefits of a range of investments that address specific challenges. Debate and discussion is encouraged by ensuring that three papers are written for each topic, so that a range of expert opinions is available. This provides a framework with which we can see the full price tag, incorporating all of the costs, benefits, and spin-offs to society from using a limited amount of money in a particular way.All of this research constitutes a valuable contribution to international development and aid policy. But the project goes a step further. A panel of the world’s top economists—including four Nobel laureates—test and debate the experts’ recommendations, and identify the most attractive possibilities. Alongside the research papers, the Nobel laureates’ prioritized list provides an important input for policymakers and philanthropists.
In a remarkable series, Lomborg summarized each of the issues considered at CC12 and Slate readers ranked the issues according to their importance. Here is the final slate ranking:
See the next post on CC12 Biodiversity.
*Note: I had hoped to stay on top of this but my blogging had to take a backseat to directing and grading 13 senior seminar papers. Graduation was yesterday so today I'm trying to fully understand what all I put on the backburner over the past month.
