Brilliant article (and graph) bij Max Roser: the founder of one of my favorite places on the entire internet (Our World in Data).
Everyone understands that some organizations and charities are more effective than others, but people underestimate just how large the differences are. People *think* that the best charities are about 1.5 times as effective as the average charity. But according to experts in, for example, the domain of global health the difference is a 100-fold!
To put it bluntly: a good charity can save 2 lives with a million dollars.
An extraordinary charity could save 200 lives with a million dollars.
And this is not just true for global health. As Roser writes: 'Whether it is about social policy, educational interventions, or measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — dataset after dataset, we see very large differences across the various available options."
The good news is that we have rigorous charity evaluators (like GiveWell for example) that help us find the best charities in the world.
Roser: "This field saw a revolution in recent years, and I think it has been one of the most important trends in global development research. Before this revolution, there was a fierce debate about aid effectiveness, with some people strongly opposing it and others strongly supporting it. In the last decade, this heated debate has made space for a more clear-eyed approach that acknowledges that many charities are not effective at all while others are extraordinarily effective."
GiveWell has found four charities (such as The Against Malaria Foundation) that can save a child’s life for about $5,000 in donations. I think this simple fact has enormous personal and ethical implications for most of us who live in rich countries. Remember: with a median wage in a country like The Netherlands (where I'm from) you're already part of the richest 3.5% in the world (find out where you are in the global income distribution here: https://lnkd.in/d24jz-VD).
In the words of Max Roser: 'You have a great opportunity right in front of you. Many people in high-income countries have the chance to give away $5,000. Perhaps not in one moment, but it is possible for many over a longer period. Saving a child’s life is certainly something that everybody can be extremely proud of. Guided by research on differences in cost-effectiveness, many people can do this.'
Here's Max Roser's article on Our World in Data: https://lnkd.in/e9GgPcBA
