whythawk ratings: measuring effective development

1. Overcoming the Conservation of Energy
(Analysis/Analysis)

...t constraint. We have an example of both. Public hospitals cannot pay more (or charge more) and so the level of service has gradually declined. Private hospitals maintain their quality but at an in...

2. Electricity Redux - Electricity Quotas Will Work About As Well As Race Quotas
(Analysis/Analysis)

...r. By mid-2000 the companies had accumulated debt of $ 20 billion and were struggling to maintain power levels. Between May 2000 and September 2001 a series of large electricity black-outs devastate...

3. Of Chiefs and Presidents
(Analysis/Analysis)

...s on, the man has become his people's worst enemy. The economy is virtually non-existent and poverty levels are high. 1990 saw his best friend Edgar Tekere stand against him in the presidential e...

4. The Speculator: Pricing in the Future
(Analysis/Analysis)

...antly different to here. In Europe and the US the populations are older, more educated and unemployment levels are extremely low. This has lead to innovation and an explosion of new services. The c...

5. Of Capitalism, Socialist Greed, Poverty and Remaining Silent
(Analysis/Analysis)

... under any conditions. It is capital that is vulnerable and rapidly destroyed by predators. Given the level of populism in political discourse, and the perpetual demands that business "stop th...

6. Perlemoen and the Tragedy of the Commons
(Analysis/Analysis)

...onsultation and the unfairness of this. Yellow-tailed, van Schalkwyk backed down. Try and imagine the level of pillage that will take place during this six-month warning zone? Everyone who can pos...

7. Killing the Golden Goose, a lesson in Economic Freedom
(Analysis/Analysis)

...inst free markets is that it leads to inequality between the rich and poor. Research indicates that the level of inequality is marginally higher in countries that are the least economically liberal. ...

8. China, Toys And The Tragedy of Xenophobia
(Analysis/Analysis)

...nd US politicians promptly suggested unilateral bans on Chinese-made goods and trade restrictions at all levels. Zhang Shuhong, the head of Lida and one of the biggest Mattel suppliers, committed sui...

9. The spectre of loyalty over ability
(Analysis/Analysis)

...y move to where they have most value. The migration of talent happens especially at the supra-national level. Millions of Zimbabweans fleeing the collapse of their nation are doing so in the hopes ...

10. Ending poverty means abandoning charity and accepting reality
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ack. Corruption breeds corruption. What the state should do is ignore the informal sector and do their level best to make the formal sector as powerful, dynamic, flexible and simple-to-use as is hum...

11. Scrogues Converse: Open-space, Identity and the Missing Web
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ds and the way in which Web 2.0 is not so much re-inventing the web as in repeating the past at a higher level. Does web 2.0 undermine net neutrality? Gavin: I feel that net neutrality is being und...

12. Atlas Shrugged at 50
(Analysis/Analysis)

...rtion to the mental effort that his job requires of him. And the same is true of all men between, on all levels of ambition and ability. The man at the top of the intellectual pyramid contributes the ...

13. Everything is coming up Capitalism
(Analysis/Analysis)

...he third axis of the graph (which would make the whole a lot more difficult to represent) is that of the level of systemic neutrality. A system that favours the elite over the rest is going to enda...

14. The war of informal markets against central states; a bellwether of support
(Analysis/Analysis)

...re unemployed. Inflation is estimated to be 11 000% Other countries in history that hit these types of levels collapsed in anarchy and civil war; when they didn't involve their neighbours as wel...

15. The Trouble with Paradise, or why Pakistan Sucks
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ough, who are you going to give money to come a terrible disaster? Iran after an earthquake in Bam that levelled a city and buried half-a-million people? Or Thailand and Indonesia where you had such...

16. How every day on strike left civil servants permanently worse-off
(Analysis/Analysis)

... the very least - break even and leave themselves equal to the money they lost (but without an inflation-level increase)? That would be 9.09% Government employs a third of all workers in South Africa...

17. Two Frontiers: wars of liberation and of determination
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ommon-place at gatherings of leaders. 100 years ago there was a vast gulf between the average education levels of journalists and that of the general public. Since then that gulf has narrowed until n...

18. The efficiency of markets and how protectionism leaves the poor behind
(Analysis/Analysis)

...all." The efficiency and trust in systems is astonishing. It is taking just-in-time to remarkable levels. And this information is shared on common relationship platforms across the value chain...

19. Leveraging your good name; the power of a positive credit rating
(Analysis/Analysis)

...d name as a bargaining chip.  Your rating follows you from bank to bank and you can demand a better level of service than you would otherwise get if you were an unknown.   Ratings act to im...

20. Demonstration Enterprise Development Consultant A
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

...consulting and with Demonstration.  Operational Effectiveness Clients polled indicate a general level of satisfaction, and a significant number (95%) are still operating in business after six...

21. Demonstration Health HIV / AIDS Orphanage B
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

...mined and committed group. It is their support which has allowed Demonstration to continue their current level of operations. Rating Factors Ownership, Governance, and Management Demonstration is...

22. Demonstration Health HIV / AIDS Orphanage A
(Ratings Demonstration/Demonstration)

...l government ensures that operations are kept at the highest standard. Operational Effectiveness The level of care enjoyed by the children is exceptional and exceeds most other organisations opera...

23. The US$ 5 trillion market at the bottom of the pyramid
(Analysis/Analysis)

...Aravind Hospital by the UK National Survey in 2001 declared that Aravind was superior on virtually every level.  Aravind Eye Care charges between $ 50 and $ 300 per operation. “It’s ...

24. Unions, the leverage of the highly skilled, and the future of work
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ion and uptake into markets is the subject of daily operations.  This is sophisticated work and the level of skill in the average office has risen rapidly.  Multiple degrees and MBAs are eve...

25. Cricket, corruption and the match-fixing that leads to murder
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ronje was caught out in a match fixing scandal and then, conveniently, died without ever naming any high-level accomplices. This column focuses on economic development.  Frequently we point out ...

26. Development organisations need to engage with ratings agencies
(Analysis/Analysis)

...future management and effectiveness of the company.  Dedicated investors can rest assured that this level of scrutiny ensures not only that all is above board in the present, but that the scrutin...

27. Climate Change: measurement, responsibility and risk
(Analysis/Analysis)

...l, no scientist) that we “deserve” the meteor as punishment.  It would be observed, the level of risk calculated, and solutions offered. The same should be true of climate change inv...

28. While no-one was watching
(Analysis/Analysis)

... organisation on “watch” and will be back in a few months to see if they have maintained the level of care currently available.  It is still inadequate – children are not stimul...

29. Making money, doing good
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ought to Kigali,” the country’s capital, says Dr Innocent Nyaruhirira, who holds the cabinet-level post of minister for HIV/AIDS. “We are a country of one thousand hills, so it often...

30. Lies, damned lies, and curriculum vitae; or why ratings may be the future of education
(Analysis/Analysis)

...f money, but for want of necessary talent. It is not surprising that, given the incredible unemployment levels and the terrible staff shortages, many people are hired on limited scrutiny and turn out...

31. The best bridge out of poverty is over the future of cash
(Analysis/Analysis)

...has unleashed a tremendous amount of activity on the main bourse at the JSE and pushed it to its highest levels ever. At the same time, though, plenty of financial mismanagement is exposed.  The...

32. The Cold War, Global Warming and the War on Ideas
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ide for everyone how we should respond. On the other side are China and India; two nations with massive levels of poverty and astonishing levels of economic growth.  Neither are going to declare...

33. A story of an African Orphan
(Analysis/Analysis)

...have been affected by AIDS. AIDS has come to South Africa on the back of high unemployment and poverty levels. The double effect on children is devastating. Generally, the consensus is that no child...

34. Cry, The Beloved Country
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ut of passionate, dedicated people who - through their commitment to pursuing their craft at the highest level - bring credit to their nations.  They allow outsiders - who so often see nothing bu...

35. Western Cape economic development support agencies lack the capacity to halve unemployment
(Analysis/Analysis)

...organisations collectively managed to create approximately 8 200 jobs in the past 12 months. The average level of unemployment in the Western Cape is about 26% and, according to research conducted by ...

36. The 'War Against Corruption' starts with ending the 'Culture of Entitlement'
(Analysis/Analysis)

...parity between the rich and poor is maintained and exacerbated by uncontrolled greed at the very highest levels of government,” writes Patrick Guntensperger, in the Jakarta Post.   The se...

37. We're from Mars and we want to help: four lessons in development
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ave dramatically different forms of governance than us; philosophies that have enabled their astonishing level of sophistication and development.  There is nothing in our Earthling history that a...

38. Coffee, the miracle of poverty, and other wonders
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ct deals with buyers.  Without the open comparison, though, prices have returned to “c” levels. In Ethiopia the government buys the bulk of the coffee, sets a price, and then sells t...

39. South Africa and China, or why democracy isn't connected to economic growth
(Analysis/Analysis)

...he most pressing macroeconomic challenges ... is the ongoing battle with high unemployment and low skill levels, which pose a significant threat to economic growth while also fanning political and soc...

40. The Martians Really Care: four points to govern development
(Analysis/Ideas and Challenges)

... does one nation conquering another. You could see them pondering ways in which to assist us to reach a level of development suitable for trading with them.   Imagine now that they had a simila...

41. Bringing Capital to Small Enterprise
(Analysis/Ideas and Challenges)

... of lending demands a premium the borrower cannot afford. Solutions therefore must see risk reduced to a level where the credit seeker can afford the interest charges while the credit grantor is adequ...

42. How do we prepare nonprofit organisations for the long term?
(Analysis/Analysis)

... should encourage. Financial controls engender discipline and awareness and client feedback encourages a level of service delivery that creates its own demand. How so? Enterprise development consultan...

43. Should charitable organisations be allowed to compete with businesses?
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ervice has made the correct decision in deciding to tax these profits.  In order that business be a level playing field and development doesn’t become a protected industry. ...

44. The other losing battle: Africa's war on talent
(Analysis/Analysis)

...e unskilled and struggling it’s a disaster. African countries have to compete on an international level with everyone else to ensure that critical skills are available to support their economie...

45. Government rewards the worst schools for poor performance
(Analysis/Analysis)

...her move to private schools where they are incentivised to do well, or they perform at the same mediocre level as other teachers, or they emigrate.  The best students congregate at private / inde...

46. Does the new Apple iPhone cause poverty?
(Analysis/Analysis)

...ore new jobs. More importantly, though, is the change to the overall standard of living.  The base level of technology will rise.  Our base expectations from the products we buy increases.&...

47. AIDS-related illnesses cost South African businesses up to R 2.2 billion per year
(Analysis/Analysis)

...s within the Catholic Church based upon their religious principles sometimes lacked the coordination and level of support needed to improve the effectiveness of their responses to the AIDS epidemic.&q...

48. No matter how hard you try bad environments lead to bad results
(Analysis/Analysis)

...reach.  When Uganda dropped import tariffs to 5% the price plummeted to $ 3.50 per net and malaria levels plunged. As in peace-keeping so in development.  You could be the best development ...

49. The end of wild seafood and the myth of "free"
(Analysis/Analysis)

There are very few things in life that are free: air, water, seafood … not free in the sense that you don’t pay for them (water out the tap, fresh fish in the markets) but the product its

50. Is the $ 100 laptop no more than a really expensive light-bulb?
(Analysis/Analysis)

...significantly less than $ 100.  Bridgeport Technical Services, based in Cape Town, has a PII entry-level desktop on offer for $ 45.  Sure, not a brilliant computer if you’re used to t...