Using AI to Map Better Distribution of Social Goods

The effectiveness of social goods often comes down to distribution. Can you put social goods in the hand of the people who need and want them? This is a huge challenge in the informal settlements in the world’s urban areas. A team of university researchers, government agencies, and software companies are showing how AI improves...Continue reading

Marketing Against Hunger and Poverty – Update

The United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals were such a success, the world decided that we should do them again. Like the previous goals the new ones, called the Sustainable Development Goals, have a 15 year time line. By 2030, the aim is no poverty, zero hunger, and gender equality, among other goals.

The Power of Promotion: Poverty Simulations

Earlier this year, actress Gwyneth Paltrow tried living on food assistance for a week. She could some flack for her experiment, including in this Washington Post blog. It’s easy to chide the famous and wealthy for something like this. After all, Paltrow also caught flack for offering $90 basic white t-shirts on her lifestyle web...Continue reading

Fairness, empathy, poverty, and politics

According to a recent article in The Atlantic, for the first time in history a majority of U.S. members of Congress are millionaires. In addition, “only 13 out of 783 members of Congress from 1999 to 2008 came from a ‘blue-collar’ upbringing. None of them have experienced that poverty in decades; those who did did...

Distribution as a product to combat poverty: JITA

Distribution is most often considered something that a business does with its product. But distribution itself can be the product, as well. In remote, impoverished areas, distribution can also be a solution to poverty, illness, and other problems.

Missteps in marketing to the poor: assuming the poverty premium

Economists and non-profits have posited, and sometimes documented, that those living in poverty may pay higher prices than others for the same goods or services, including public services like power and water. For example, a 2007 report from Save the Children documented how poor families paid more for common items like appliances or electricity. This...Continue reading

Marketing Against Hunger and Poverty: UN Millenium Development Goals

In June 2013, the United Nations announced the 38 countries had already reached their 2015 Millennium Development goal of reducing hunger in their nation by 50 percent. I let out a whoop when I saw this news. This is great progress for millions of people around the world. I think the Millennium Development project gets...

Scroll to top