Mile Zero

October 21, 2007

Friday was my last day working at the World Bank. Unless they bring me back in for consulting, that is, but that really doesn't count. Starting Monday, I'll be working at Congressional Quarterly as their Multimedia Producer--a position which is nebulous but promising. Because CQ is understandably cautious about appearances, there will probably be little or no political content here in the future. Please, let's keep the sighs of relief to a minimum.

I will miss the Bank. Its stated mission--"Our dream is a world free from poverty"--lent every workday an energy and determination that you don't get working for the bottom line. And the institution is filled with smart, driven people. Many of them come from the developing countries in which the Bank works, and they feel strongly about the cause of poverty. It has often been a pleasure to work alongside the staff, particularly in the Multimedia Center, which makes it a priority to look ahead and remain open to new ideas and perspectives.

At the same time, it would be a lie to say that the Bank doesn't have issues. I certainly don't agree with all of its policies, and in my three years there, I've seen dysfunctional units, poorly-run projects, and a fair share of bureacracy. I don't want to go into detail, but I will say that these problems are all the more frustrating because of the Bank's lofty goals. We have a responsibility to do better. And I'm sure that the World Bank will do so.

Because when it comes down to it, I think we need the Bank. The problems of development aren't going anywhere, and it can be tremendously helpful for a single organization to act as hub for those efforts. Not to mention the Bank's strength as a knowledge-sharing and learning institution, which I personally think is its strongest asset. I may be leaving the Bank, but I'll be watching it with hope and anticipation.

In any case, this space may be a little quiet for a while as I settle into my new position and get the production process straightened out. As soon as I have something to show for it, I'll post links here.

August 2, 2007

This month, technically for the August 1st podcast but let's call it July anyway, we dipped into the archives to highlight one of the events that's always on our top ten most-viewed. Our new coordinator/writer is also working on a new description for its main entry. What is it?

There's an old joke that Economics is the only field in which two people can win the Nobel prize for saying the exact opposite thing. For evidence that economic disagreements can be spirited, especially in development, look no further than this entry from the B-SPAN archives. After former World Bank Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz published his controversial book, Globalization and its Discontents, which expressed his own discontent with the International Monetary Fund, he and IMF Research Director Ken Rogoff squared off in a 2002 panel discussion on its claims. The resulting debate has become one of the most relevant on the role of international institutions in promoting globalization.

You can listen to the dueling economists here.

May 15, 2007

The Islamic Development Bank's lecture series is a bit of an oddball on B-SPAN. It's not directly World Bank sponsored, and it's not your typical economics lecture. It may also seem a little odd as a feature here: I have no love lost for any particular organized religion, much less the orthodox variety. But these are fascinating glimpses into a new perspective on commerce and banking--one that many Americans, steeped in the pro-market ideological slant of Christianity, have probably never considered. It's been a real education for me. You can watch the lectures here, although as usual you must have RealPlayer to view them.

The basic dilemmas at the heart of Islamic banking, and forgive me if I get any of these wrong, are that the Koran forbids charging interest or trading in financial risk as part of its prohibitions against usury and gambling. There is also an element of socially responsible investing here: the Islamic banks put their money in halal enterprises, and profits and losses are to be shared as an extension of charity. In other words, the goal is not to take advantage of customers, but to reach a win-win arrangement for them.

Nevertheless, it is hard to actually be a bank without charging interest or some kind of compensation for loans, which leads to arrangements like murabaha, in which the bank purchases an item for the lendee and sells it to them at a higher agree-upon price, with the implicit profit making up the role that interest would have played for a conventional bank. This is not an uncontroversial method, since some have claimed that it is just a legal workaround.

I recently finished reading Mark Noll's The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, which calls for more evangelical Christians to become scholars and lead a "life of the mind." It is, for the non-evangelical reader, often a confusing book. When Noll states that the titular scandal is that no mind arises from evangelicalism, we can all think of the three Republican presidential candidates who disbelieve in evolution and nod in agreement, but when he speaks of an "evangelical life of the mind," it is much less clear what exactly he means--how does one conduct "Christian" science or research, at least in any valid form? Oddly, the Islamic Development Bank lectures have helped me get a firmer grasp on what he seems to want in terms of applying religious thought and frameworks to intellectual challenges. I am of course not in favor of religiously-run financial institutions for myself, but I do have to say that the basic principles being followed--charity, empathy, and protection from risk--hold a certain appeal.

April 20, 2007

If I never have to read Christopher Hitchens drunkenly rambling about my workplace anywhere ever again, I may die a happy man.

February 5, 2007

I can't see a preview image on this, and Google Video's been shaky all morning. I hope it doesn't look too stupid.

December 29, 2006

I just finished posting this to the World Bank's internal blog system, but I'm going to reproduce it here. This is part of a new organizational marketing campaign that we're working on. I'm trying to take advantage of tools that the Bank doesn't normally use, as well as a casual, humorous tone. We hope that the combination will grab the attention of other staff, and maybe get it virally passed around as an example to other units.

Pay no attention to the "read more" line: the Bank's secure blogs automatically put all formatting and embedding behind a cut.

November 30, 2006

It's a little late, I know, but this presentation by Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and current book-flogging memoirist, is pretty good. You may remember that Fiorina is the woman who rescued HP from a nine-quarter slump, only to be ousted after the controversial merger with Compaq and her pro-globalization testimony to Congress. We really had to fight to get this on B-SPAN, but I'm proud that we did. She's an interesting, polished, and high-profile speaker.

Update: Speaking of late, the Best of B-SPAN podcast was delayed while I was training other staff on audio production. I know you were all on the edge of your seat. The newest edition (retroactively labeled 12/1/2006) is now uploaded, and I enjoyed it very much, personally. It's on the question of "how much human development funding is enough?" With all the emphasis that people like Jeff Sachs place on getting more funding, that's a logical question--but Shanta Devarajan and Michael Clemons explain why it's the wrong question. Highly recommended.

The 12/15 podcast, for those who have an aversion to Real Media, will be Fiorina's presentation. Truly, MP3 is what brings us all together.

September 25, 2006

A quick hit, hot off the wires, which I'm sure everyone will be flogging shortly: Apple has decided to legally shut down the use of the word "podcast." Since part of my job description now literally involves producing podcasts, I think I'm qualified to ask the following question:

Is Apple completely insane?

I'm not a big fan of the word podcast in general, but it has a catchy ring and it does roll of the tongue cleanly. More importantly, when I explain this to anyone in the outside, non-geek world, it generally requires at least a few sentences establishing that a podcast does not actually require an iPod. The two are linked, at least by name, strongly in the public ear.

So let's get this straight: there's an entire burgeoning community of content-creators (as well as useless blowhards, to be sure) out there who are driving large parts of iTunes traffic, who represent a hip thing that even the World Bank (read: not the cutting edge) can apply and use, and who are providing exposure for Apple's products just by existing--and Apple basically wants to kill a tremendous part of that advantage. It is a profoundly stupid move.

Oh, and they don't want you making games for their hardware either. Seriously, guys, take a valium and ease back on the control freak urges. You're giving me the creeps.

August 17, 2006

I know it's a different guy (obviously), but the fact that Kenneth Lay was just appointed World Bank Treasurer is pretty funny. In a "good thing I don't believe in omens" kind of way.

August 15, 2006

The World Bank slows down a lot during the late summer, until it ramps up for the annual meetings again. I've actually been fairly busy, but only because about half the department is out on vacation. So there hasn't been much in the way of new B-SPAN material, and the most recent podcast pulls from the archives.

But it's a great pull: Jeffrey Sachs, author of The End of Poverty and Director of the UN Millennium Project, spoke in 2004 on his approach to poverty. Sachs is kind of a brute-force development expert: he believes that while corruption can be a factor, the real problem in development is donor stinginess and lack of will. Whether or not you agree (William Easterly, author of the excellent The Elusive Quest for Growth and no fawning Bank panderer, considers it foolish), Sachs is a gifted speaker whose passion is inspiring to hear.

P.S. If you want to see something really disgusting, check out the comments on this Daniel Drezner post about Sachs' plan. Perhaps my "favorite" is here:

Wow.

You know, I've commented on this before (back when I had my own conservative troll), so I probably shouldn't be so shocked, but it still takes me by surprise. Even if you think Sachs is an idiot, $150 billion for his initiatives isn't really that much money on the scale of the US budget. The fact that some are so disproportionately opposed to aid really worries me.

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