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Blog Post
August 11, 2023
I have to open by apologising for the very patchy appearance of the Links this summer: its been a combination of last-minute leave plans, technical snafus with our emailing system and a pile-up of deadlines that means the different demands on my time have been fighting like they’re on a dock in Mont...
Blog Post
July 30, 2023
In a new paper, we examine the connection between exposure to lead—a dangerous but prevalent neurotoxicant—and children’s learning outcomes. We find that lead poisoning alone could account for more than 20 percent of the learning gap between rich and poor countries. Given the comparative ease of, sa...
Blog Post
July 26, 2023
The effects of anthropogenic climate change are upon us, and the time for serious action is past due. In this context it is unsurprising that many observers are turning to the multilateral development banks (MDBs) for this action. These are institutions whose names inspire the potential for grand ac...
Blog Post
July 24, 2023
First things first: I am extremely pleased to report that University Challenge is still brilliant with Amol Rajan as its host. All of the important things are still there: the questions are great, the students are amazing and Rajan, like Paxman, ends the show with “and it’s goodbye from me; goodbye....
Blog Post
July 14, 2023
One of the joys of being a cricket fan is following the Guardian’s Over-by-Over (OBO) commentary on the day’s cricket. I discovered it while working Malawi and trying to surreptitiously keep track of the Sri Lanka tour of England in 2006 (this was the tour in which Murali took the first 8 wickets to...
Blog Post
July 14, 2023
It’s rare to read an education report that doesn’t mention the learning crisis. As data on low learning levels have emerged in recent years, global education aid has swung its focus sharply toward improving test scores among primary school children. Of course, learning to read is a good thing in its...
Blog Post
July 07, 2023
The ‘British summer’ used to be an oxymoron—it meant umbrellas, packing a jumper and a light raincoat as well as your sunglasses and, every four years, getting thrashed by the Australians in the cricket. Things have changed: the Aussies are still giving us a hammering (though England look like they ...