Friends of African Village Libraries (I post regularly here)- Photos from Gowrie Kunkua community library during the night session, Ghana
- Sumbrungu Community Library nighttime reading
- Résumé du livre Une grande mère criminelle
- Organisation d’une séance de discussion autour d’un livre à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Librarians of Tuy monthly meeting January 2026, Burkina Faso
- Impressions sur la production de livres CMH au Burkina Faso
- Compte rendu de la première rencontre des gérants de la zone du Tuy
- Science fiction books for libraries in Burkina Faso and Ghana
- Animation d’une séance de lecture à la bibliothèque de Dimikuy
- Nyariga Community Library in Ghana, photos January 2026
Author Archives: mkevane
Documentary on RTB on koglweogo of Kaibo in Centre-sud
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Some notes on criminal justice reform in the U.S.
Vox’s German Lopez reviews Locked In: The True Causes of Mass Incarceration and How to Achieve Real Reform, by John Pfaff. Prison population growing because violent offenders being incarcerated at state and local level, not Federal. Pfaff: “In reality, only … Continue reading
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Roadblocks for Project Loon delivering Internet over Puerto Rico
Seems like a lot of technical glitches still have to be worked out. See what happens next month! La esperanza de que los globos de Project Loon pudieran conectar a Puerto Rico tan pronto como esta semana -como se había … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Long analysis by El Nuevo Día on cost of restoring electric grid in Puerto Rico; close to $2 billion…. and likely not until December
Ante el colapso financiero y operacional de la Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE) y la incapacidad fiscal del gobierno de Puerto Rico, los estragos causados por el huracán María al sistema eléctrico de la isla se han convertido en una … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Dramatic story of struggling to make do in Puerto Rico… slightly undermined
It is a great story and dramatic photo, residents of Charco Abajo (“the puddle underneath”) whose bridge washed away, using a supermarket cart and pulley system to get stuff more easily across the river. But wait, what is that in … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking
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Why I think simple narratives of Thomas Sankara need to approached critically #lwili
From my review of Thomas Sankara Speaks: The Burkina Faso Revolution 1983-87: There is no doubt that Sankara’s heart was in the right place. But the DOP speech and others illustrate three features of Sankara’s rule that I find troubling: … Continue reading
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Traditional son jarocho from Veracruz, “El Colas”
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Sharp criticism of Ricardo Ramos, head of Puerto Rico electric authority
De entre el aluvión de mentiras hay unas que irritan más que otras. El pueblo las identifica todo el tiempo y deja pasar la mayoría. Entre las que se quedan alimentando la ira son las relacionadas con la Autoridad de … Continue reading
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Sea of Bees with live (and animated) version of “Test Yourself”
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Books not worth reading. Seveneves by Neal Stephenson and The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton
I actually enjoyed, somewhat Anathem by Neal Stephenson, but Seveneves was flat out bad after about 300 pages… and it continued until 800 something. I slogged, skimming. Burst out laughing at the explanation for genetic engineering of Neanderthals in cramped … Continue reading
Posted in Book and film reviews
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R’s remarkable growth: Python is growing just as fast and is more used among data scientists, but for economists/social scientists I think R is right language
Source: R’s remarkable growth | R-bloggers
Posted in Burkina Faso
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Productivity growth during WWII in the United States, Alex Field version
My colleague Alex Field presented a working paper on productivity growth legacy of WWII. Robert Gordon has argued that war production led to huge learning by doing that carried over into manufacturing. Alex strongly disagrees, amassing lots of data suggesting … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking, Teaching macroeconomics, United States
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Measuring attitudes towards gender norms, pilot results from Save the Children
In Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivoire, data on gender attitudes have been used as a discussion point with community members who have volunteered to be Gender Champions – leading their communities in identifying gender disparities and developing their own strategies … Continue reading
Posted in Burkina Faso, Development thinking, Gender
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I agree wholeheartedly with this sentiment expressed by colleague Bill Sundstrom
Granddad had a gun He died when I was still a kid, but his memory is vivid to me. He fished, and he hunted. He had German shorthaired pointers – sleek, nervous, beautiful dogs that might, or might not, help … Continue reading
Posted in United States
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Kazuo Ishiguro -Nobel Prize in Literature
“Never Let Me Go” is an amazing novel. Poignant and urgent. From The New York Times: Mr. Ishiguro, 62, is best known for his novels “The Remains of the Day,” about a butler serving an English lord in the years … Continue reading
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Puerto Rico water authority says water established for 45% of customers, but fluctuating
The director says everyone is filling up their tanks etc, so demand is overwhelming the system. En cuanto al restablecimiento del servicio, Díaz sostuvo que se sitúa en un 45% de los abonados.“Esto está fluctuando. A veces hay unos generadores … Continue reading
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The perfect graph for every undergraduate statistics class, from Financial Times
I object to usage of “trend” to indicate “relationship” (for me “trend” implies over time) but that is just a quibble. Perfect illustration of importance of visualizing data. PS. Doug Campbell reminded me of importance of a title for the … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking, R statistics
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Interesting rhetoric from Rising Academies (part of the private school movement in developing countries), on the WDR2018 report
From Paul Skidmore of Rising Academies: The report strikes a surprisingly cautious note on the potential contribution of private schools. Surprising in part because I had been reliably informed that the World Bank was secretly a vast conspiracy to push … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking, Education effects
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Should you read the 2018 World Development Report? Not if you care about libraries and reading books (fiction and picture books)
Public and school libraries and reading books (fiction and picture books) get not a single mention in the 200 page WDR report that proclaims it is “the first ever devoted entirely to education.” The report is full of analysis of … Continue reading
Posted in Development thinking, Education effects, Reading
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Economics of affordable housing in Bay Area
Santa Clara County Housing Authority finalized the purchase of a Palo Alto mobile home park in 2017. In 2012, the owners of the park, the Jisser family, announced their intention to close and sell the 4.5-acre site to a private … Continue reading
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Michael Kevane 