Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty QUOTES

21 " Generally, it is clear that things that make life less boring are a priority for the poor. This may be a television, or a little bit of something special to eat—or just a cup of sugary tea. Even Pak Solhin had a television, although it was not working when we visited him. Festivals may be seen in this light as well. Where televisions or radios are not available, it is easy to see why the poor often seek out the distraction of a special family celebration of some kind, a religious observance, or a daughter’s wedding. In our eighteen-country data set, it is clear that the poor spend more on festivals when they are less likely to have a radio or a television. In Udaipur, India, where almost no one has a television, the extremely poor spend 14 percent of their budget on festivals (which includes both lay and religious occasions). By contrast, in Nicaragua, where 58 percent of rural poor households have a radio and 11 percent own a television, very few households report spending anything on festivals.33 "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

23 " After every patient left, the doctor would come outside and make a show of washing his needle with water from the drum. This was his way of signaling that he was being careful. We do not know whether he actually infected anyone with his syringe, but doctors in Udaipur talk about a particular doctor who infected an entire village with Hepatitis B by reusing the same unsterilized needle. "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

25 " the present, we are impulsive, governed in large part by emotions and immediate desire: "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

27 " Good economic institutions will encourage citizens to invest, accumulate, and develop new technologies, as a result of which society will prosper. Bad economic institutions will have the opposite effects. One problem is that rulers, who have the power to shape economic institutions, do not necessarily find it in their interest to allow their citizens to thrive and prosper. They may personally be better off with an economy that imposes lots of restrictions on who can do what (that they selectively relax to their advantage), and weakening competition may actually help them stay in power. This is why political institutions matter - they exist to prevent leaders from organizing the economy for their private benefit. When they work well, political institutions put enough constraints on rulers to ensure that they cannot deviate too far from the public interest. "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

29 " Aren’t we, those who live in the rich world, the constant
beneficiaries of a paternalism now so thoroughly embedded into the system that
we hardly notice it? It not only ensures that we take care of ourselves better than
we would if we had to be on top of every decision, but also, by freeing us from
having to think about these issues, it gives us the mental space we need to focus
on the rest of our lives. This does not absolve us of the responsibility of
educating people about public health. We do owe everyone, the poor included, as
clear an explanation as possible of why immunization is important and why they
have to complete their course of antibiotics. But we should recognize—indeed
assume—that information alone will not do the trick. "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

31 " Recognizing that schools have to serve the students they do have, rather than the ones they perhaps would like to have, may be the first step to having a school system that gives a chance to every child. "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

33 " The poor in Udaipur seem to select the doubly expensive plan: cure, rather than prevention, and cure from private doctors rather than from the trained nurses and doctors the government provides for free. That might make sense if the private doctors were better qualified, but this does not seem to be the case: Just over half of the private “doctors” have a medical college degree (this includes unconventional degrees like BAMS [Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medical Science] and BUMS [Bachelor of Unani Medical Science]), and one-third have no college education whatsoever. When we look at the people who “help the doctor,” most of whom also see patients, the picture becomes even bleaker: Two-thirds have no formal qualification in medicine at all. "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

35 " When faced with a serious health issue, poor households cut spending, sell assets, or borrow, like Ibu Emptat, often at very high rates: In Udaipur, every third household we interviewed was currently repaying a loan taken out to pay for health care. A substantial proportion of those loans are from moneylenders, at rates that can be very high: The standard interest rate is 3 percent per month (42 percent per year). "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

37 " The enterprises of the poor often seem more a way to buy a job when a more conventional employment opportunity is not available than a reflection of a particular entrepreneurial urge. "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty

39 " it makes sense for society to subsidize or enforce behaviors that have benefits for others. Fines or incentives can push individuals to take some action that they themselves consider desirable but perpetually postpone taking. "

― Abhijit V. Banerjee , Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty