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Charles Kenny

@charlesjkenny.bsky.social
3.6K followers 337 following 1.5K posts

Fellow at the Center for Global Development, author of Getting Better and The Plague Cycle. (CGD doesn't have institutional positions, so don't blame it for mine).

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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
To be direct about this: I think funding a system that does regular mortality surveys in humanitarian settings would be a very high impact use of philanthropic resources.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
New blog: We Don’t Know the Impact of Humanitarian Aid Cuts. We Should Fix That. We know that countries historically more reliant on US humanitarian funding saw less of their population in need reached with humanitarian support in 2025 (see figure). But what about outcomes?
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
A day away from the end of the US Government fiscal year, here's the latest quarterly reported outlays (spending), obligations (commitments) and unobligated balance for the US Contributions to International Organizations --funds dues to UN organizations and places like the OECD.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We're a day away from the end of the US Government fiscal year, and here's the latest reported outlays (spending), obligations (commitments) and unobligated balance for the US Global Health account covering (i.a.) the HIV program PEPFAR.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Blog, with Erin Collinson: From Great Lakes Parasites to Martian Microbes: Where US Multilateral Funding Survived, & Didn't, in FY25. Many vital organizations & activities, big & small, saw deep cuts. Silver lining for lampreyphobes: the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission funded.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Excited. Should be out next year.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New note: Protecting the Client in US Global Health Agreements www.cgdev.org/publication/...
cgdev.org
Protecting the Client in US Global Health Agreements
The direction of travel laid out in the Global Health Strategy is correct. To the extent possible, health services should be provided and funded by the countries home to those receiving those services...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
A blog for CGD: Impact Data Helped Saved PEPFAR. What About Everything Else? Data on outcomes like mortality is not only useful for targeting, monitoring and evaluation, it is really important for advocacy. www.cgdev.org/blog/impact-...
cgdev.org
Impact Data Helped Saved PEPFAR. What About Everything Else?
It is a justifiable commonplace that data on outcomes is key to effective aid: for targeting, delivery, monitoring and evaluation. Last year certainly provided additional evidence of the need for data...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
World Bank press release on latest private sector "mobilization" figures. Short version: "We threw lots more money at firms that didn't need our help (and ~nothing more at firms that might). Yay!" www.worldbank.org/en/news/pres...
worldbank.org
World Bank Group Mobilizes Record Private Capital for Developing Countries, Driving Job Creation
The World Bank Group mobilized more private capital in fiscal year 2026 than in any year in its history and issued a record volume of guarantees, delivering on a goal shareholders and clients have pre...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Interesting/hopeful: new fertilizer suppliers are blunting the global food crisis. www.ft.com/content/e1b2...
ft.com
New fertiliser exporters blunt food crisis fears
Countries outside the Gulf increase market share of urea exports as supplies through Strait of Hormuz collapse
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
:-) www.reuters.com/world/world-...
reuters.com
World Bank names Nobel laureate Michael Kremer as next chief economist
The World Bank on Wednesday named Nobel laureate and University of Chicago professor Michael Kremer as its next chief economist, succeeding Indermit Gill, who retired last month.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Asclepiades Menches, a scribe from ancient Egypt, is only known to history because some of his business correspondence was used to mummify a crocodile. There's an important lesson in that.
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Reposted by Charles Kenny
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 14/09/2026
A federal judge just enjoined one of the US Administration’s sharpest attacks on international students. The ruling references research by me & my stellar co-authors six times. Facts matter. Facts are necessary for democracy, accountability, and the rule of law. Research delivers them.
storage.courtlistener.com
Memorandum & Order – #50 in Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. United States Department of Homeland Security (D. Mass., 1:26-cv-13799) – CourtListener.com
District Judge F. Dennis Saylor, IV: MEMORANDUM AND ORDER ON MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION. Plaintiffs' motion for APA § 705 relief, a preliminary injunction, or, in the alternative, summary judgm...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Yin nested within yang, the World Bank Group's private sector development teams work under the Maoist principle of continuous revolution. Five times fused, four times (so far) fissioned since 1999. www.cgdev.org/blog/world-b...
cgdev.org
The World Bank Cannot Stop Reorganizing Its Private Sector Work
Since 1999, the World Bank has merged its private sector policy teams with the investment staff of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) no fewer than five times, with the most recent union now ...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New paper and blog: Will There Be an African Energy Revolution? That Depends on Who Funds What. A thread.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Had missed this picture from the World Bank's evaluation group demonstrating the impact of the IDA Private Sector Window, launched in 2017 to use IDA resources to increase IFC activities in IDA countries and fragile states.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
To net a few million in finance that could be re-labelled as ODA, the OECD Development Assistance Committee is willing to further weaken rules governing $170 billion in annual flows.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
This is Nauru (officially Naoero), a Pacific island state with a population of 12,000. It is at the center of an effort to weaken the standards around $170 billion in Official Development Assistance –ODA, or foreign aid. A thread.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Carsten Staur, chair of the Development Assistance Committee, was kind enough to respond to this blog. I'm somewhat reassured by his language on ODA graduation. Link in reply.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The Development Assistance Committee Sinks to the Occasion? A blog for CGD. Last time ODA fell by 25%, the DAC responded with a set of development goals to motivate and target aid where it could do the most good. The goals were overly ambitious but still useful: they ended up as the MDGs...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
This is Dad from ten years ago on the moral and philosophical limits/dangers of anthropomorphism with regard to animals, computers, states and gods. Still seems relevant. www.youtube.com/watch?v=blMI...
youtube.com
Anthony Kenny - Humanism vs Anthropomorphism
YouTube video by Ian Ramsey Centre
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
A piece for In Development with Erin Collinson: U.S. Foreign Assistance: Not What It Was. US Foreign assistance obligations dropped from $48.8bn in FY24 to $26.5bn in FY25. Humanitarian spending dropped 60%. Zimbabwe, Burma, DR Congo, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan saw deeper cuts.
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Reposted by Charles Kenny
David Evans @daveevansphd.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
"The US administration’s policies over the last year should serve as a cautionary tale. The major lesson—which has been painfully absorbed by scores of countries over centuries of commerce—is that diversification of markets and products is key" www.cgdev.org/publication/...
cgdev.org
Tariff Whiplash in Africa: What Happened and What’s to Come
Under this administration, reciprocity is a bedrock principle of trade policy, making a simple extension of AGOA highly unlikely. In addition, USTR is exercising alternative tariff authorities to thei...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
This is not good. www.kas.de/en/web/mned-...
kas.de
First experiences with CBAM from selected African countries
By Mercy Mugala Ng’ambi, Aida K. Nattabi, Seutame Maimele, Insaf Guedidi and Inmaculada Martínez-Zarzoso
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Reposted by Charles Kenny
Saloni @scientificdiscovery.dev · 07/08/2026
I find this, 1806 letter from Thomas Jefferson to Edward Jenner, so moving 🥺
To Dr. Edward Jenner Monticello, May 14, 1806
The Letters of Thomas Jefferson

SIR,
-- I have received a copy of the evidence at large respecting the discovery of the vaccine inoculation which you have been pleased to send me, and for which I return you my thanks. Having been among the early converts, in this part of the globe, to its efficiency, I took an early part in recommending it to my countrymen. I avail myself of this occasion of rendering you a portion of the tribute of gratitude due to you from the whole human family. Medicine has never before produced any single improvement of such utility. Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood was a beautiful addition to our knowledge of the animal economy, but on a review of the practice of medicine before and since that epoch, I do not see any great amelioration which has been derived from that discovery. You have erased from the calendar of human afflictions one of its greatest. Yours is the comfortable reflection that mankind can never forget that you have lived. Future nations will know by history only that the loathsome small-pox has existed and by you has been extirpated.

Accept my fervent wishes for your health and happiness and assurances of the greatest respect and consideration.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Dad died on Monday. A brief remembrance. (Picture: Anne-Katrin Purkiss, NPG)
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Report in the UK Independent citing UNHCR suggests that data covering more than three million refugee women across 20 nations suggests infant mortality (first year) rose from 8.3 to 17.5 per 1,000 2025-6; and under-five mortality rose 50%.
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Reposted by Charles Kenny
David Edmonds @davidedmonds100.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
The great Anthony Kenny - RIP -on Philosophy Bites philosophybites.com/podcast/anth...
philosophybites.com
Anthony Kenny on Aquinas' Ethics - Philosophy Bites
Thomas Aquinas, the thirteenth century Dominican is the subject of this episode of Philosophy Bites. Anthony Kenny explains the key features of Aquinas'  ethics in conversation with Nigel Warburton.
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Dang Nguyen @digitaldang.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Here is Bryan Magee talking with Anthony Kenny about medieval philosophy, especially Augustine and Aquinas. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpub...
youtube.com
Medieval Philosophy - Bryan Magee & Anthony Kenny (1987)
YouTube video by Philosophy Overdose
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
New blog: Use New Philanthropy for a Maximum Vaccination Strategy Hopefully there's about to be a lot more effective-altruist-adjacent philanthropic money around. My pitch on spending it: vaccinate everyone against everything all the time....
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
This seems... perfectly reasonable? World Bank will lend up to $2bn to China over next five years, but probably not lend after that (by which time the country should be clearly into high income status). finance.yahoo.com/economy/poli...
finance.yahoo.com
World Bank confirms plan to phase out China lending by 2031
The World Bank on Thursday confirmed that it plans to phase out its lending to China by 2031, according to the organization's new country partnership framework (CPF) for the world's second-largest eco...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
A new note for CGD: Beyond Belt and Road: Responding to the Evolution of China’s Financing for Infrastructure. China has pretty much given up on finance for publicly owned infrastructure.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
A quick note on the impact of the Trump administration ending Temporary Protective Status for 350,000 immigrants from Haiti today.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This is just wrong. Most World Bank IDA countries are above the IDA threshold ($1,325 GNI/capita), meant to preserve scarce concessional financing for the poorest countries. Countries below the threshold got just 54 percent of IDA resources.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
New article for the German journal Welternährung: How Emigration Can Lift Developing Countries www.welthungerhilfe.org/global-food-...
welthungerhilfe.org
How Emigration Can Lift Developing Countries
Development models based on industrialisation and export are a thing of the past. In future, strategies for the migration of labor are required - which benefit both countries of origin and high income...
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Reposted by Charles Kenny
Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 04/06/2026
Good stuff from @alanbeattie.bsky.social, although we cannot have a decent society if migrants (and other humans) are mainly seen as serving the needs of the economy. Maybe ministers think AI will magically replace all migrant labour or that middle managers displaced by AI will pick the veg
ft.com
Governments are scared of tackling the immigration dilemma
Rich economies need workers but their voters don’t like migrants
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Reposted by Charles Kenny
Center for Global Development @cgdev.org · 03/06/2026
Who should qualify for official development assistance (ODA)? Euan Ritchie and @charlesjkenny.bsky.social argue that ODA eligibility should account for purchasing power and use a lower graduation threshold—not new vulnerability measures. go.cgdev.org/4udhlqn
cgdev.org
Any Change to ODA Eligibility Should Lower the Graduation Criteria and Account for Purchasing Power
ODA is a valuable and increasingly scarce resource that has its greatest impact in the world’s poorest countries. Any effort to reform the ODA eligibility requirements should be designed to increase t...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
New note with (largely by) @euanaritchie.bsky.social: Any Change to ODA Eligibility Should Lower the Graduation Criteria and Account for Purchasing Power The OECD DAC coalition of donors is thinking about redefining ODA, including the income threshold. That threshold should be lower.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Survey suggests 60 percent of funded startup founders in Africa have studied or worked outside Africa. Emigration is a growth strategy. www.nber.org/papers/w35261
nber.org
Startups in Africa
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
All the trade not aid language rings more than a bit hollow when you are slapping tariffs left and right and stopping people coming to make deals.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
oops
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Dear foot Meet projectile Shot by hand Led by brain Full of straw
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
WBG hasn't been worried about conflicts of interest between IFC and World Bank because the two “are separate legal entities, with distinct objectives, management, information flows and governance processes.” ...not any more. So, what's the institution doing about that?
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
@davidpilling.bsky.social on Dangote. Perhaps necessary for Nigerian industrialization? Still sad.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Blog: Too Cavalier About Conflicts of Interest at the World Bank? The Private Sector Investment Lab and the IFC-World Bank unit mergers both raise concerns about conflict of interest policies at the World Bank Group.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
Enjoyed writing this for the new magazine In Development: Where’s My Ministry For Emigration? On the new age of mass migration and what it could mean for the developing world. indevelopmentmag.com/wheres-my-mi...
indevelopmentmag.com
Where’s My Ministry For Emigration? – In Development
evidence and argument for a developing world
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
ICE activity => unemployment for the US born. For every immigrant ICE arrests, one US-born worker loses their job. Effect is concentrated amongst non-college educated. www.colorado.edu/today/2026/0...
colorado.edu
Heightened ICE enforcement harms US-born workers, shrinks workforce
A new study shows that heightened immigration enforcement reduces employment opportunities for some U.S. born men while shrinking the overall workforce,
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Relying on emigration as a growth strategy in this global climate risky, but also true of trade. And as the rich world ages, not convinced it will be harder to find a new place to move than a new place to export. One opportunity is expanding in aggregate, the other shrinking.
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Charles Kenny @charlesjkenny.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Obviously I'm more optimistic about the potential upside, but I'd definitely agree that migration as a growth strategy both carries risks and isn't primarily about absolute numbers.
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Reposted by Charles Kenny
Gavin Jackson @gavinjackson.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Inspired by @charlesjkenny.bsky.social new paper on emigration as a development strategy I visited the Indian state of Kerala, which has certainly escaped poverty by sending expats to the Gulf but doesn’t look like it will get rich with that approach. economist.com/finance-and-...
economist.com
Can countries grow richer by exporting people, not goods?
That depends where those people end up
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