Chris Blattman

What if someone told you that you could dramatically reduce the crime rate without resorting to coercive policing or incarceration? In fact, what if they said you could avert a serious crime — a robbery, say, or maybe even a murder — just by shelling out $1.50? That’s such an incredibly good deal that it sounds too good to be true. But it’s been borne out by the research of Chris Blattman, Margaret Sheridan, Julian Jamison, and Sebastian Chaskel. Their new study provides experimental...

Placeholder while article actions loadWhen he wrote “Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace,” economist Christopher Blattman could not have known that Russian President Vladimir Putin would soon invade Ukraine, setting off the deadliest war in Europe since 1945. Putin’s war also created exactly the kind of natural experiment that social scientists like Blattman seek. We therefore have an opportunity to test whether Blattman’s thesis helps us to understand why Putin started such...

Last week I wrote a long thread about whether and why China would invade Taiwan: Will China invade Taiwan? Did Biden’s remarks today make war more or less likely? I’ve been reading up on this a lot lately. Here’s a summary of the best things I read, and what could lead to a war. Mostly I’m reassured. But not entirely. A 🧵, obviously. pic.twitter.com/ooLwXItxgB — Chris Blattman (@cblatts) May 23, 2022 I’ll write up what the analysts and the theory say as a longer post this summer....

Der Ökonom Chris Blattman: „Eine demokratische Ukraine ist eine Bedrohung für Putin, wenn er glaubt, dass sie ein Vorbild für russische Dissidenten werden könnte.“ dpa BEITRAG TEILEN Bis die ersten Raketen auf Kiew fielen, war es für viele...

That is my op-ed today in the L.A. Times. I really do think the ruin of war is a useful lens to look at conflict. It also helps us see how this conflict might end, why it might end faster if NATO is unconditional in its support for Ukraine, and why I think that stance is worth the great risks it entails. First, the rest of the op-ed:Even Vladimir Putin, author of the world-changing conflict in Ukraine, tried to avoid war in his own insidious way. For two decades, he employed every underhanded...

It’s easy to see the war in Ukraine as a sign of an inescapably violent world. But if the future looks bleak, perhaps that’s because we focus on the conflicts that happen and overlook the gravitational pull of peace.An example came on March 9, two weeks into the Russian invasion. Shortly after sundown, India accidentally launched a cruise missile at Pakistan. Predictably, calm ensued. Both sides strove to avoid escalation — as they have for decades.Focusing on the times peace fails is a kind...

One June 2, 11am-12pm EDT, the U.S. Institute of Peace is hosting an online conversation between me and Raj Kumar, head of DevEx about Why We Fight. Register at that link to join. Those in the US may also order a 20% discounted copy of the book here. It will ship shortly after the event. The next few weeks I’ll be doing live and hybrid events with the World Bank, IRC, USAID, and others. The fall I’ll be speaking at universities again. If your organization or school is interested in an...

In this series, Nesta Chief Executive Ravi Gurumurthy is joined by a range of thought leaders as he explores the innovations and ideas that can be applied to tackling some of society's greatest challenges Why we fight with Chris Blattman In this special...

La police arrête un homme en marge des manifestations contre l'aggravation de la crise économique, à Monrovia, au Libéria, le 6 janvier 2020.©Carielle Doe / AFPSolutions optimalesLa thérapie cognitivo-comportementale (TCC) peut contribuer à réduire les comportements délinquants chez les jeunes à risque et chez les hommes ayant déjà commis des actes répréhensibles. Cette méthode a permis de lutter efficacement contre la violence au Libéria, selon une nouvelle étude de professeurs et de...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]For listeners who want the more advanced discussion of the book and research, this is the go-to podcast The post Probable Causation podcast appeared first on Chris Blattman.