Over the past couple months I’ve been taking a free online course on Development Economics through Marginal Revolution University, a massively open online course (MOOC) taught by Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok at George Mason University. They also have a separate economics blog that is on my regular reading list.
One of the early lessons in the course talked about how geography can affect a country’s development. Everything from coastlines and navigable waterways to climate and agriculture. I encourage everyone interested in international development to watch all the videos, but the one below about disease is especially relevant to much of the work that Engineers Without Borders does. Whether it is providing mosquito nets or building latrines, much of the work that we do seeks to reduce disease and it’s important to remember the big picture of why we do what we do.
Check out the full course here.