Laura Derksen
@lauraderksen.bsky.social
🇨🇦 development and health economist at the Frisch Centre in Oslo
https://sites.google.com/site/lauraderksen
https://sites.google.com/site/lauraderksen
So proud to have @voxdev.bsky.social highlight our work on how EMRs have saved lives in Malawian HIV clinics -- efficiency improving measures are even more important given drastic funding cuts to foreign aid and HIV treatment
🆕 Electronic medical records save lives
Today on VoxDev, @lauraderksen.bsky.social (Frischsenteret), Anita McGahan (@utoronto.ca) & Leandro Pongeluppe (The Wharton School) discuss the impact of electronic medical record systems in Malawi: voxdev.org/topic/health...
Today on VoxDev, @lauraderksen.bsky.social (Frischsenteret), Anita McGahan (@utoronto.ca) & Leandro Pongeluppe (The Wharton School) discuss the impact of electronic medical record systems in Malawi: voxdev.org/topic/health...
Electronic medical records save lives
The implementation of an electronic medical records (EMR) system in Malawi’s HIV clinics has saved thousands of lives by improving clinic efficiency. EMRs help clinic staff trace lapsed patients and m...
voxdev.org
September 15, 2025 at 9:04 AM
So proud to have @voxdev.bsky.social highlight our work on how EMRs have saved lives in Malawian HIV clinics -- efficiency improving measures are even more important given drastic funding cuts to foreign aid and HIV treatment
Reposted by Laura Derksen
a friend of mine shared this ai-generated "emotion wheel" and unfortunately i have been laughing my ass off at it for like 15 minutes now. today i am feeling Fnliinneon
June 5, 2025 at 2:46 PM
a friend of mine shared this ai-generated "emotion wheel" and unfortunately i have been laughing my ass off at it for like 15 minutes now. today i am feeling Fnliinneon
Reposted by Laura Derksen
Congratulations, Pope Leo!
May 8, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Congratulations, Pope Leo!
Have to say I am pretty proud of Canada today. Looks like the right wing populist is going to lose in his own riding
April 29, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Have to say I am pretty proud of Canada today. Looks like the right wing populist is going to lose in his own riding
Reposted by Laura Derksen
"I'm going to govern in econometrics" is a winning campaign slogan for the ages.
April 29, 2025 at 2:59 AM
"I'm going to govern in econometrics" is a winning campaign slogan for the ages.
google translate has gotten so much worse lately, e.g. changing the meaning of emails to the point that I reply completely differently (and wrongly)... is this AI hallucinations? Anyone else seeing this?
April 24, 2025 at 6:26 AM
google translate has gotten so much worse lately, e.g. changing the meaning of emails to the point that I reply completely differently (and wrongly)... is this AI hallucinations? Anyone else seeing this?
So far Canadian and American maple syrup are still the same price (or maybe Canadian used to be cheaper?)
April 9, 2025 at 5:42 PM
So far Canadian and American maple syrup are still the same price (or maybe Canadian used to be cheaper?)
Basic household items under lock and key at Target (America)
April 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Basic household items under lock and key at Target (America)
Reposted by Laura Derksen
🆕 People think it’s easy to contract HIV. That might not be a good thing.
Today on VoxDev, @jkerwin.bsky.social (@uwnews.bsky.social) discusses how providing information on actual (often lower) HIV transmission rates helped curb risky sexual behaviours in Malawi: voxdev.org/topic/health...
Today on VoxDev, @jkerwin.bsky.social (@uwnews.bsky.social) discusses how providing information on actual (often lower) HIV transmission rates helped curb risky sexual behaviours in Malawi: voxdev.org/topic/health...
People think it’s easy to contract HIV. That might not be a good thing.
Despite the high HIV prevalence in Malawi, individuals do not seem to adjust their behaviour to avoid infection—this may be due to the perceived transmission risk being so high that people become fata...
voxdev.org
April 2, 2025 at 9:06 AM
🆕 People think it’s easy to contract HIV. That might not be a good thing.
Today on VoxDev, @jkerwin.bsky.social (@uwnews.bsky.social) discusses how providing information on actual (often lower) HIV transmission rates helped curb risky sexual behaviours in Malawi: voxdev.org/topic/health...
Today on VoxDev, @jkerwin.bsky.social (@uwnews.bsky.social) discusses how providing information on actual (often lower) HIV transmission rates helped curb risky sexual behaviours in Malawi: voxdev.org/topic/health...
Reposted by Laura Derksen
Time to remind ourselves of some observations about how trade appears to help stabilize alliances and prevent international conflict www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/mat...
Matthew O. Jackson: Can Trade Prevent War?
www.gsb.stanford.edu
April 3, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Time to remind ourselves of some observations about how trade appears to help stabilize alliances and prevent international conflict www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/mat...
Reposted by Laura Derksen
First run of the spring and I was overtaken by a Norwegian dad with a kid in the stroller and another kid in a carrier on his back
March 21, 2025 at 3:02 PM
First run of the spring and I was overtaken by a Norwegian dad with a kid in the stroller and another kid in a carrier on his back
Reposted by Laura Derksen
"We can heal the sick and save children’s lives, all inexpensively... We properly honor a firefighter who saves a single child, but three cheers for us as taxpayers for rescuing millions of children around the world from AIDS, starvation and disease.
That is, until January."
-- Nick Kristof
That is, until January."
-- Nick Kristof
Opinion | Musk Said No One Has Died Since Aid Was Cut. That Isn’t True. (Gift Article)
A journey through the front lines of global poverty shows that when the world’s richest men slash aid for the world’s poorest children, the result is sickness, starvation and death.
www.nytimes.com
March 15, 2025 at 1:28 PM
"We can heal the sick and save children’s lives, all inexpensively... We properly honor a firefighter who saves a single child, but three cheers for us as taxpayers for rescuing millions of children around the world from AIDS, starvation and disease.
That is, until January."
-- Nick Kristof
That is, until January."
-- Nick Kristof
My 4yo bingeing With Love Meghan on Netflix. "What's she gonna make next??? We don't know!"
March 13, 2025 at 5:11 PM
My 4yo bingeing With Love Meghan on Netflix. "What's she gonna make next??? We don't know!"
Reposted by Laura Derksen
Would ya look at that
This chart seems to suggest that something is going wrong in the United States, specifically.
(www.ft.com/content/7568... )
(www.ft.com/content/7568... )
March 12, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Would ya look at that
Reposted by Laura Derksen
They're really putting the FFS into tariffs is what they're doing
They're really putting the "if" in tariff
March 6, 2025 at 8:59 PM
They're really putting the FFS into tariffs is what they're doing
Is Canada the only country standing up to Trump or what
March 4, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Is Canada the only country standing up to Trump or what
Reposted by Laura Derksen
So many organizations I’ve had the privilege of working with received termination letters from USAID this week. Here’s an estimate of how many lives may be lost as a result, in South Africa alone: >500k additional deaths, >500k new infections
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
Potential Clinical and Economic Impacts of Cutbacks in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Program in South Africa: A Modeling Analysis: Annals of Internal Medicine: Vol 0, No 0
Background: Future U.S. congressional funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program is uncertain. Objective: To evaluate the clinical and economic impacts of abruptly sca...
doi.org
March 1, 2025 at 4:47 PM
So many organizations I’ve had the privilege of working with received termination letters from USAID this week. Here’s an estimate of how many lives may be lost as a result, in South Africa alone: >500k additional deaths, >500k new infections
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
doi.org/10.7326/ANNA...
Reposted by Laura Derksen
More efficient than any DOGE idea yet
Wanted: Zoom feature where people write a short bio that pops up when you hover over their name or square on the grid.
Partly, I'm forgetful, but it might also substitute for spending the first 20% of a meeting on introductions, with clumsy handovers between participants.
Partly, I'm forgetful, but it might also substitute for spending the first 20% of a meeting on introductions, with clumsy handovers between participants.
March 1, 2025 at 3:50 PM
More efficient than any DOGE idea yet
Reposted by Laura Derksen
Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts.
Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
February 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Rubio terminated 5800 USAID contracts – more than 90% of its foreign aid programs – in defiance of the courts.
Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
Here’s a list of just some of the lifesaving awards that were terminated. Nearly all were Congressionally mandated. They’ve saved millions of lives. 🧵
Submit your papers to NCDE 2025, deadline February 28. Open to all, and very friendly! www.oslomet.no/en/about/eve...
Nordic Conference in Development Economics - NCDE 2025
Welcome to the 23rd Nordic Conference in Development Economics.
www.oslomet.no
February 28, 2025 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by Laura Derksen
Dean Karlan's job at USAID was LITERALLY to improve the efficiency of its programs.
DOGE is clearly not actually after cutting fraud and waste. And its actions will clearly make the US weaker while also making the world a worse place.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
DOGE is clearly not actually after cutting fraud and waste. And its actions will clearly make the US weaker while also making the world a worse place.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Why Dean Karlan, chief economist of USAID, resigned on Tuesday
He was hired in 2022 so the aid agency could get 'more bang for our buck' with its projects. He tried to reach out to help in the rebuilding of the agency. On Tuesday he tendered his resignation.
www.npr.org
February 26, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Dean Karlan's job at USAID was LITERALLY to improve the efficiency of its programs.
DOGE is clearly not actually after cutting fraud and waste. And its actions will clearly make the US weaker while also making the world a worse place.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
DOGE is clearly not actually after cutting fraud and waste. And its actions will clearly make the US weaker while also making the world a worse place.
www.npr.org/sections/goa...
Reminder to send your papers to the Nordic Conference in Development Econ. Oslo is beautiful in summertime, we will swim in the fjord! (and talk research of course) #econsky
Submit your papers to NCDE 2025, deadline February 28. Open to all, and very friendly! www.oslomet.no/en/about/eve...
Nordic Conference in Development Economics - NCDE 2025
Welcome to the 23rd Nordic Conference in Development Economics.
www.oslomet.no
February 17, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reminder to send your papers to the Nordic Conference in Development Econ. Oslo is beautiful in summertime, we will swim in the fjord! (and talk research of course) #econsky
Reposted by Laura Derksen
Will repeat this forever, but if there's a US foreign policy program that deserves unambiguous support from a global health/humanitarian/economic/political/every angle you can think of perspective, it's PEPFAR. Sharing the economists letter of support here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #Econsky
February 4, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Will repeat this forever, but if there's a US foreign policy program that deserves unambiguous support from a global health/humanitarian/economic/political/every angle you can think of perspective, it's PEPFAR. Sharing the economists letter of support here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F... #Econsky