Jeffrey D. Sachs
Jeffrey D. Sachs is Professor of Economics and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is also a Special Adviser to United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals.
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2010-01-25
| Rebuilding Haiti will cost perhaps $10-$20 billion, and will require much of the coming decade. Getting started now will save countless lives and prevent a further tragic downward spiral of a society that stands at the very brink of survival.... read |
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2009-12-20
| Two years of climate change negotiations have now ended in a farce in Copenhagen. Barack Obama’s decision to declare a phony negotiating victory amounts to a declaration that rich countries will do what they want and must no longer listen to the “pesky” concerns of many smaller and poorer countries.... read |
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2009-11-20
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It is hard for international observers to grasp the political paralysis that grips the US, and that seriously threatens its ability to solve domestic problems and contribute to international problem solving. Indeed, America’s governance crisis is the worst in modern history, and it is likely to worsen in the years ahead.... read |
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2009-10-20
| There are several reasons for US inaction – including ideology and scientific ignorance – but a lot comes down to one word: coal. No fewer than 25 states produce coal, which not only generates income, jobs, and tax revenue, but also provides a disproportionately large share of their energy.... read |
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2009-09-18
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There are enough good technological options available to suggest that the world can accomplish the goal of controlling climate change at a reasonable cost while enabling the world economy to continue to grow and raise living standards. One of the most exciting developments on the horizon is the new generation of electric automobiles.... read |
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2009-08-20
| The global economic crisis can yet be an opportunity to turn from a path of financial bubbles and excessive consumption to a path of sustainable development. In fact, with the practical limits of short-term stimulus spending quickly being reached, seizing this opportunity is the only recipe for genuine growth that we have left.... read |
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2009-07-20
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The G-8's $20 billion initiative on smallholder agriculture, launched at the group’s recent summit in L'Aquila, Italy, may be a historic breakthrough in the fight against hunger and extreme poverty. Indeed, it could be the greatest step so far toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to halve extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by 2015.... read |
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2009-06-19
| One disturbing aspect of global politics today is the confusion between negotiations and problem-solving. While negotiations on climate change, for example, mainly concern which countries should cut their emissions, by how much, how fast, and relative to which baseline year, any meaningful agreement depends on which technologies are available, and when. ... read |
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2009-05-20
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American foreign policy has failed in recent years mainly because the US relied on military force to address problems that demand development assistance and diplomacy. Although Barack Obama has raised hopes for a new strategy, so far the forces of continuity in US policy are dominating the forces of change.... read |
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Water Wars
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Jeffrey D. Sachs 
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Many conflicts around the world are caused or inflamed by water scarcity. And future water stresses will be widespread, including both rich and poor countries, owing to bulging populations, depletion of groundwater, waste and pollution, and the enormous and increasingly dire effects of manmade climate change.... read
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2009-12-20
| Two years of climate change negotiations have now ended in a farce in Copenhagen. Barack Obama’s decision to declare a phony negotiating victory amounts to a declaration that rich countries will do what they want and must no longer listen to the “pesky” concerns of many smaller and poorer countries.... read |
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2009-05-20
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American foreign policy has failed in recent years mainly because the US relied on military force to address problems that demand development assistance and diplomacy. Although Barack Obama has raised hopes for a new strategy, so far the forces of continuity in US policy are dominating the forces of change.... read |
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2003-09-29
| America wants the world to pledge billions of dollars to Iraq's reconstruction at a donor's meeting to be held in October in Madrid. The world's answer should be an unequivocal "No!" Iraq's long-term reconstruction does not need foreign financial assistance. What it needs is a political settlement, and that will be possible only with the withdrawal of America's occupying army. The billions of dollars that the US seeks should be directed towards true global emergencies, such as the fight against AIDS and hunger. ... read |
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2005-12-23
| Corruption undermines the quality of life for people around the world, not only in poor countries. The US currently is witnessing several corruption scandals. Even America’s Federal Emergency Management Agency, responsible for providing relief after natural disasters and man-made catastrophes, was in the hands of inept political cronies rather than professionals. When hurricane Katrina struck America’s Gulf Coast, that incompetence proved fatal.... read |
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2008-03-21
| Today’s financial crisis has its immediate roots in 2001, when the US Federal Reserve turned on the monetary spigots to try to combat an economic slowdown amid the end of the Internet boom and the shock of the September 11 terrorist attacks. That fueled another boom, this time in housing, helped by the Fed's failure to regulate banks dangerous lending practices.... read |
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2005-09-20
| The most shocking statement in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was President George W. Bush’s remark that “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees” that protect New Orleans from flooding. New Orleans is a city mostly below sea level, and must be protected by levees to keep water out. Concern that the levees might break in the midst of a powerful hurricane was widespread among scientists, engineers, and emergency-preparedness experts. Yet Bush apparently did not know of these concerns, even days after the hurricane destroyed the levees and flooded the city. ... read |
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2005-08-19
| Niger’s food emergency has reached the world’s headlines, but the crisis there is only one part of a much larger disaster. On an extended trip this summer through rural areas of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa on behalf of the United Nations, I visited countless villages afflicted with extreme hunger and struggling to survive against the odds. ... read |
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2006-04-21
| Fewer debates over economics would be needed if the world spent more time examining what actually works and what does not. Almost everywhere, debate has raged about how to combine market forces and social security. The left calls for an expansion of social protection; the right says that doing so would undermine economic growth and widen fiscal deficits.... read |
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2006-02-24
| Almost daily, the United States and Europe brandish threats to impose economic sanctions or cut off development assistance unless some vulnerable government accepts their political strictures. The most recent threats are towards the new Hamas-led government in Palestine. Other recent examples include threats vis-à-vis Chad, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Bolivia, Uganda, and long-standing sanctions against Myanmar. ... read |
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2006-01-23
| Long-term economic progress comes mainly from the invention and spread of improved technologies. The scientific revolution was made possible by the printing press, the industrial revolution by the steam engine, and India’s escape from famine by increased farm yields – the so-called “Green Revolution.” Today’s era of globalization emerged with the spread of computers and the Internet. Thus, when we seek solutions to some of the world’s toughest problems, they, too, are likely to be found, at least in part, in new technologies that can resolve old and seemingly intractable problems. ... read |
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2005-11-21
| The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1990, and 2005 is likely to be the warmest ever. This year, we’ve gotten a taste of the many kinds of dangers that lie ahead: more extreme hurricanes, massive droughts, forest fires, spreading infectious diseases, and floods. The climate is changing, and more is yet to come. ... read |
