Macabre Explanation of Opportunity Costs

[tcpip]

For those who haven't seen it...

I think dead children should be used as a unit of currency. I know this sounds controversial, but hear me out.

Comments

[tcpip]

opportunity costs are not calculable because they're imaginary.

Partially true. They can certainly be estimated fairly well however.

[goumindong]

I have a feeling that the causation in this book is not quite on track.

The argument seems to be that we should not attempt to help poor people because while we are doing this we also end up helping rich people.

[anfalicious]

At the very least, social, cultural and environmental aspects of the world need to start being considered when we think of economics.

[anfalicious]

But the issue is that these things are already part of the economic world, yet aren't accounted for in most theory. For example, a happy population will be more productive (something that is supported by evidence in other fields), so therefore providing for public happiness (eg: funding festivals or the arts) should be taken into account in an economic theory. Similarly, a polluted environment is a less productive environment (if you need an example lets take soil quality), and thus has to be considered

[tcpip]

You made me waste a a few minutes of time reading that.

Now there's an opportunity cost!

[ytterbius]

So what would be the global economic impact of actually succeeding in keeping every baby alive by charity?

Massive flows of wealth from the developed world to the starving baby places...

[kenosis]

Dambisa Moyo had African foreign aid pegged at around a trillion dollars so far. $1T/$800 = 1 and a quarter billion people. That's some impressive lifesaving considering that Africa has less people than that.

[ninboydean]

Meanwhile, nearly 2 Tn US$ have left Africa by way of fraud since the 80s...

[kenosis]

If the problem is institutional - either going in or coming out - how is giving more money going to fix it?

[tcpip]

At the very least it deals with the symptoms.