Joe Carter's Commonplace

Over two years, more than 50 economists have worked to find the best solutions to ten of the world’s biggest challenges. During the last week of May 2008, an expert panel of 8 top economists, including five Nobel Laureates, sat down to assess the research.  The result is a ranked list highlighting the potential of 30 specific solutions to combat the biggest challenges facing the world.  Combating malnutrition among the 140 million children who are undernourished was ranked number one, after economist Sue Horton of Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada made her case to the expert panel.  Providing micronutrients for 80% of the 140 million children who lack essential vitamins would cost just $60 million per year, according to the analysis. More importantly, this action promises yearly benefits - in the form of better health, fewer deaths, increased future earnings, etc - of more than $1 billion. Each dollar has a return of $17 - making this an incredible investment for donor nations and organizations.