I parse the argument as “EA interventions don’t have lasting impact. They might prevent some bad things, but they don’t fundamentally improve the conditions that cause poverty. People are not kept in poverty because of bad public health in their community, but because of economic factors that disempower them.”
And this might well be true. Bednets save the lives of their recipients, but I’m unsure if this leads to a more productive next generation or a more stable political situation.
Basically, live-saved measures are too short-sighted.
It’s very hard to get clear evidence on this as it’s so difficult to assess what actually leads to a more productive next generation, but there is some evidence focusing on health and education might make a big difference. For example there is evidence that if you have malaria a lot you get iron deficient or anemic and do worse at school. I know this is a lame anecdote, but I can tell you our nurses get malaria a lot and it’s bad for productivity!
There are some interventions like family planning measures which have even better evidence behind them—smaller family size is associated with higher income on a household level and also faster development on a country measure.
Obviously it’s not the be all and end all, but there is a decent amount of evidence out there that life-saving and health-improving measures can help assist development.
I parse the argument as “EA interventions don’t have lasting impact. They might prevent some bad things, but they don’t fundamentally improve the conditions that cause poverty. People are not kept in poverty because of bad public health in their community, but because of economic factors that disempower them.”
And this might well be true. Bednets save the lives of their recipients, but I’m unsure if this leads to a more productive next generation or a more stable political situation.
Basically, live-saved measures are too short-sighted.
It’s very hard to get clear evidence on this as it’s so difficult to assess what actually leads to a more productive next generation, but there is some evidence focusing on health and education might make a big difference. For example there is evidence that if you have malaria a lot you get iron deficient or anemic and do worse at school. I know this is a lame anecdote, but I can tell you our nurses get malaria a lot and it’s bad for productivity!
There are some interventions like family planning measures which have even better evidence behind them—smaller family size is associated with higher income on a household level and also faster development on a country measure.
Obviously it’s not the be all and end all, but there is a decent amount of evidence out there that life-saving and health-improving measures can help assist development.