A girl born in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa faces the cruel double burden of growing up in a region beset by poverty, disease, war or famine and confronting these challenges with the added disadvantage of being female. The benefits of improving educational incentives, expanding reproductive services, and promoting economic opportunities far outstrip the costs.
COPENHAGEN – A girl born in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa faces a cruel double burden. She will grow up in a region beset by poverty, disease, war or famine. She will also confront these challenges with the added disadvantage of being female.
Although more attention is being given to gender issues, inequality persists in every culture, country, and continent. A new study for the Copenhagen Consensus project shows that eliminating this disparity is an investment with high payoffs.
Despite global interest in education for all, many girls in poor countries continue to be denied basic education; right from the start, they are disadvantaged. Three in five illiterate children in the world are girls. Particularly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, cultural norms and economic hardships stop parents from sending their daughters to school or from keeping them in school for as long as they enroll their sons. This unequal investment is neither equitable nor efficient.
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There is evidence from around the world that the liberty of women is under attack, including in proud democracies. Against this backdrop, the US Supreme Court’s elimination of the federal right to abortion is a particularly egregious offense against women.
notes that the Supreme Court’s elimination of the federal right to abortion accompanies rising gender violence.
Antara Haldar
highlights a potential institutional advantage of developing countries, shows how the hesitation to appeal to voters’ emotions is putting progressives at a disadvantage, and considers where the economics discipline is headed.
After a 9% decline in the second half of 2020, the broad dollar index – the real effective exchange rate as calculated by the Bank for International Settlements – has gone the other way, soaring by 12.3% from January 2021 through May 2022. And yet the deterioration of the US current-account balance has continued.
revisits his prediction in 2020 of a dollar crash and explains why he got it perfectly wrong.
COPENHAGEN – A girl born in South Asia or sub-Saharan Africa faces a cruel double burden. She will grow up in a region beset by poverty, disease, war or famine. She will also confront these challenges with the added disadvantage of being female.
Although more attention is being given to gender issues, inequality persists in every culture, country, and continent. A new study for the Copenhagen Consensus project shows that eliminating this disparity is an investment with high payoffs.
Despite global interest in education for all, many girls in poor countries continue to be denied basic education; right from the start, they are disadvantaged. Three in five illiterate children in the world are girls. Particularly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, cultural norms and economic hardships stop parents from sending their daughters to school or from keeping them in school for as long as they enroll their sons. This unequal investment is neither equitable nor efficient.
To continue reading, register now.
As a registered user, you can enjoy more PS content every month – for free.
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