Attention Economy


Monday, April 25, 2011

Poverty Traps

A fantastic quote from two of the world's leading development economists:

We often see the world of the poor as a land of missed opportunities and wonder why they don't invest in what would really make their lives better. But the poor may well be more skeptical about supposed opportunities and the possibility of any radical change in their lives. They often behave as if they think that any change that is significant enough to be worth sacrificing for will simply take too long. This could explain why they focus on the here and now, on living their lives as pleasantly as possible and celebrating when occasion demands it.”
                                                                                    - Banerjee and Duflo (2011)