Emanuela Galasso

Thank you @eeshani.bsky.social and @charlesjkenny.bsky.social for articulating these points so clearly

A true development scholar who pioneered fieldwork for grad students with Alain Dr Janvry ahead of their times. RIP

RIP Betty

are.berkeley.edu/news/remembe...

Opinion | This Problem Is Easy to Solve

From @nickkristof.bsky.social: "'We have a whole set of solutions,' said Shawn Baker of Helen Keller Intl, which works in nutrition and blindness. He noted that a recent World Bank study estimated that each $1 invested in nutrition yields a return of $23.
Try finding a hedge fund with that return."

Weekly links May 30: meta-CCT lessons, reasons to remain skeptical of much social science, heat is bad for teams, and more..

This week's links include what everyday life for a World Bank researcher looks like, getting grumpy with teamwork on hot days, when giving cash backfired, and more... blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

For measuring costs, administrative data are not enough! documents.worldbank.org/en/publicati... In Brazil, admin data alone would have overestimated costs of an early childhood development program even while *missing* key cost elements.

New preprint finding that eliminating US global health funding over the next fifteen years would cause:
- 15.2m deaths from AIDS
- 2.2m deaths from TB
- 7.9 additional child deaths

Quite literally whitewashing the purpose of the Underground Railroad www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

Trump’s Science Policies Pose Long-Term Risk, Economists Warn (Gift Article) Since World War II, U.S. research funding has led to discoveries that fueled economic gains. Now cutbacks are seen as putting that legacy in jeopardy.

Tariffs get all the attention, but ask economists what they're really worried about and many will point to the Trump administration's cuts to federal support for the sciences, including canceling grants and revoking student visas.
#EconSky
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/31/b...

From 2010 to 2016 (latest data I have ), NIH research contributed to EVERY drug approved by the FDA

Thinking Through Waste, Fraud and Corruption in US Foreign Assistance The US Administration has presented a weak case for its argument that US foreign assistance was so riddled with abuse and fraud that the only answer was to shut down USAID and reboot. The lists of ter...

My colleague @charlesjkenny.bsky.social offers some trenchant thoughts on the reality of waste, fraud and corruption in US foreign assistance: www.cgdev.org/blog/thinkin...

This is insane. Arguably the greatest achievement of the first Trump administration was Operation Warp Speed.
And mRNA technology has tremendous potential. Recall recent news that mRNA vaccines show promise against pancreatic cancer in early trials
www.nbcnews.com/health/cance...

Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization Since 1974 substantial gains in childhood survival have occurred in every global region. We estimate that EPI has provided the single greatest contribution to improved infant survival over the past 50...

Nothing will kill more children than the ongoing decimation of CDC, NIH, and USAID work to lift vaccine uptake in the US and world.

Child survival rose 75% in the last 50 years. Vaccines account for 40% of that. Measles vax alone was 60% of the benefit. www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo: Foreign aid can be effective without the US In the wake of USAID cuts, wealthy nations and individuals must take the reins

"The world must now affirm that human lives matter, no matter where they are."
-- Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo in today's FT.

Personal initiative training continues to yield positive benefits after 7 years, but impacts vary with gender

In today's blog, I summarize 7-7.5 year impacts of a RCT we did in Togo that tested personal initiative (PI) training against a control and traditional business training. PI training has large and growing impacts for men, which diverge from those for women 1/3 blogs.worldbank.org/en/impacteva...

Welcome to the Bluesky account for Stand Up for Science 2025!

Keep an eye on this space for updates, event information, and ways to get involved. We can't wait to see everyone #standupforscience2025 on March 7th, both in DC and locations nationwide!

#scienceforall #sciencenotsilence

Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...

Georgia Nonprofit That Produces Life-Saving Food For Kids Has Federal Contract Cut An estimated 300,000 children globally are expected to lose access to a nutrient-dense peanut butter that’s specially formulated to treat severe acute malnutrition.

An estimated 300,000 children globally are expected to lose access to a nutrient-dense peanut butter that’s specially formulated to treat severe acute malnutrition.

Five Failures in the Oval Office (video) America hurt itself badly today.

Here I react to the shameful encounter between American leaders and media and the Ukrainian president. No doubt there were more, but I saw five failures on our side: of hospitality, decency, democracy, strategy, and independence. Please watch and share.
snyder.substack.com/p/five-failu...

So - I've actually led Ebola outbreak response at USAID.

This is bunk from Elon. They have laid off most of the experts, they're bankrupting most of the partner orgs, have withdrawn from WHO, and muzzled CDC.

What's left is a fig-leaf effort to cover their asses politically.

The effects of the House’s proposed “Medicaid cuts to pay for tax cuts” in one graph: a 3.9% boost in income for the top 1% of households and a 7.4% reduction in income for the bottom fifth of households. In two words: class warfare. www.epi.org/blog/the-hou...

The US lags behind other rich countries in health outcomes @econofact.bsky.social contributions by Amy Finkelstein, @michaelkremer.bsky.social @melissakearney00.bsky.social @marksheppard.bsky.social & @willmasters.bsky.social cited in this @econofact Weekend Reading eepurl.com/i-sJU-/

Opinion | ‘We Are Seeing Complete Destruction’: The Damage Done by the U.S.A.I.D. Freeze Testimonials from around the world show that Trump’s foreign aid funding freeze has been damaging and chaotic.

Read the real stories about what USAID cuts mean, not the Musk propaganda

www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/o...

Migration does not have to be what it is now

Innovation can change what migration *is*—more orderly, skilled, integrated, & tangibly beneficial to everyone affected

In 2012 I proposed one way: Global Skill Partnerships

The World Bank just released a major GSP roadmap—> hdl.handle.net/10986/42780

A shock to the global nutrition system: Why nutrition scientists should challenge the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development and US withdrawal from the World Health Organization Imagine a world where over 1 million children across 85 countries died from a single nutrient deficiency — deaths that could be prevented with a semi-annual vitamin supplement. Millions of lives saved...

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition from @nutritionorg.bsky.social has a clear-eyed review of how cutting USAID and WHO affects U.S. interests in health, from an all-star team of authors: AJCN editor-in-chief Chris Duggan, Lindsey Locks, Dan Hoffman and @christinestewart.bsky.social

Trump Tracker: Firings, lawsuits, and U.S. science in chaos Follow President Donald Trump’s impact on U.S. research and science globally

This morning, the National Science Foundation fired 168 probationary employees, effective immediately. The number represents roughly 10% of its workforce.

Follow Science’s coverage of President Donald Trump’s impact on U.S. research and science globally. ⬇️ scim.ag/40XtSSi

Is the U.S. Civil Service really broken? What the research says about bureaucratic efficiency and reform - Haas News | Berkeley Haas The Trump administration is pursuing sweeping changes to the federal workforce, aiming to increase political control over civil servants and reduce the size of the bureaucracy. The new Department of G...

I have been studying bureaucracy my entire career. Here are some insights from my research about the ongoing efforts to transform the US federal bureaucracy newsroom.haas.berkeley.edu/is-the-u-s-c...

Opinion | It’s America That Suffers When We Cut Foreign Aid U.S.A.I.D. keeps children alive and us safe.

In Nigeria toddlers are starving because emergency feeding centers have run out of nutrient-rich paste used to save lives of severely malnourished children
Ebola outbreak in Uganda has spread to 3 cities.
@nickkristof.bsky.social on consequences of USAID chaos so far www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/o...

Stand Up for Science rallies will be held in DC and state capitals on March 7th. Share with friends. Sign-up here to get email updates with details: www.eventbrite.com/e/stand-up-f...

Opinion | The World’s Richest Men Take On the World’s Poorest Children I’ve seen U.S.A.I.D. operate around the world, and it’s not woke — it’s lifesaving.

The world's richest man is taking food and medicine from the world's poorest children
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/o...