Valentina Barca
@valentinabarca.bsky.social
Tweeting on #socialprotection, often with a focus on #digital & #shocks. Previously SPACE (SP approaches to COVID19) Team Leader.
Reposted by Valentina Barca
I've done a NEW page on my website 🖥️
And I'm starting NEWSLETTER ✉️
If you are interested in the use of AI and other tech in how govts the world over administer the welfare state you should sign up!
Monthly-ish insights, analysis, gossip, thrills and more ⤵️
And I'm starting NEWSLETTER ✉️
If you are interested in the use of AI and other tech in how govts the world over administer the welfare state you should sign up!
Monthly-ish insights, analysis, gossip, thrills and more ⤵️
Digital welfare state: origins, controversies, research — ABD Consultancy
How are governments worldwise using AI and other tech to administer the welfare state? Find out about research, policy and investigations into the digital welfare state, including digital surveillance...
www.abdconsultancy.co.uk
May 20, 2025 at 4:36 PM
I've done a NEW page on my website 🖥️
And I'm starting NEWSLETTER ✉️
If you are interested in the use of AI and other tech in how govts the world over administer the welfare state you should sign up!
Monthly-ish insights, analysis, gossip, thrills and more ⤵️
And I'm starting NEWSLETTER ✉️
If you are interested in the use of AI and other tech in how govts the world over administer the welfare state you should sign up!
Monthly-ish insights, analysis, gossip, thrills and more ⤵️
Reposted by Valentina Barca
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Climate-responsive social protection: A primer for philanthropy
We need to take urgent #ClimateAction right now to avoid the worst of Climate Change!
More: odi.org/en/publications/pri...
#ClimateAction
Climate-responsive social protection: A primer for philanthropy
We need to take urgent #ClimateAction right now to avoid the worst of Climate Change!
More: odi.org/en/publications/pri...
#ClimateAction
odi.org
July 28, 2025 at 7:01 AM
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Climate-responsive social protection: A primer for philanthropy
We need to take urgent #ClimateAction right now to avoid the worst of Climate Change!
More: odi.org/en/publications/pri...
#ClimateAction
Climate-responsive social protection: A primer for philanthropy
We need to take urgent #ClimateAction right now to avoid the worst of Climate Change!
More: odi.org/en/publications/pri...
#ClimateAction
Reposted by Valentina Barca
Scalable Targeting of Social Protection: When Do Algorithms Out-Perform Surveys and Community Knowledge?: Emily Aiken; Anik Ashraf; Joshua Blumenstock; Raymond Guiteras; Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak
NEP/RePEc link
to paper
d.repec.org
July 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM
Scalable Targeting of Social Protection: When Do Algorithms Out-Perform Surveys and Community Knowledge?: Emily Aiken; Anik Ashraf; Joshua Blumenstock; Raymond Guiteras; Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak
Reposted by Valentina Barca
Developing countries are pushing back on Big Tech’s control of user data. The countries want tech giants to store their citizens’ data locally instead of overseas, to reclaim digital sovereignty and have more control, reports @tarykuh.bsky.social for @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
Why Big Tech is threatened by a global push for data sovereignty
Countries are forcing tech giants to store citizen data locally, challenging the standard business model of harvesting data abroad while keeping profits at home.
restofworld.org
July 9, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Developing countries are pushing back on Big Tech’s control of user data. The countries want tech giants to store their citizens’ data locally instead of overseas, to reclaim digital sovereignty and have more control, reports @tarykuh.bsky.social for @restofworld.org
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
restofworld.org/2025/big-tec...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
This proposal is a bomb under the right to asylum in Europe. People who flee war and prosecution deserve our protection. With this proposal, asylum seekers can potentially be deported through unsafe third countries, without any form of connection being needed. 1/2
bsky.app/profile/eura...
bsky.app/profile/eura...
Commission ramps up deportation drive with new ‘safe third country’ proposal: EU countries could deport asylum seekers to states they merely transited through - or even to places they’ve never set foot in - so long as a bilateral agreement or informal arrangement exists.
Commission ramps up deportation drive with new ‘safe third country’ proposal
EU countries could deport asylum seekers to states they merely transited through - or even to places they’ve never set foot in - so long as a bilateral agreement or informal arrangement exists.
dlvr.it
May 21, 2025 at 9:45 AM
This proposal is a bomb under the right to asylum in Europe. People who flee war and prosecution deserve our protection. With this proposal, asylum seekers can potentially be deported through unsafe third countries, without any form of connection being needed. 1/2
bsky.app/profile/eura...
bsky.app/profile/eura...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
Reposted by Valentina Barca
Global average temperatures are spiking, rising faster than climate models seem able to explain, and in a sane world, every country would be united in a full-scale effort to figure this out & respond. Instead the US is dismantling its scientific infrastructure.
The World’s Most Urgent Scientific Question
https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/wmo-confirms-2024-warmest-year-record-about-155degc-above-pre-industrial-level
There is no question more urgent than the one indicated by that red arrow in the graph...
app.wedonthavetime.org
May 19, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Global average temperatures are spiking, rising faster than climate models seem able to explain, and in a sane world, every country would be united in a full-scale effort to figure this out & respond. Instead the US is dismantling its scientific infrastructure.
Reposted by Valentina Barca
46% of 16 to 21 year olds say they would rather a world without internet, and 70% say they feel worse about themselves after using social media.
It’s long past time governments stepped in to address the consequences of leaving the internet to the private sector.
It’s long past time governments stepped in to address the consequences of leaving the internet to the private sector.
Almost half of young people would prefer a world without internet, UK study finds
Half of 16- to 21-year-olds support ‘digital curfew’ and nearly 70% feel worse after using social media
www.theguardian.com
May 20, 2025 at 6:39 AM
46% of 16 to 21 year olds say they would rather a world without internet, and 70% say they feel worse about themselves after using social media.
It’s long past time governments stepped in to address the consequences of leaving the internet to the private sector.
It’s long past time governments stepped in to address the consequences of leaving the internet to the private sector.
Reposted by Valentina Barca
None of the 278 men sent to CECOT have been returned. Meanwhile their lawyer has been arrested and "disappeared" in El Salvador.
Lawyer for Venezuelans deported to El Salvador prison arrested
Ruth López held without access to lawyers at secret location accused of ‘embezzlement’ a decade ago
www.theguardian.com
May 19, 2025 at 10:22 PM
None of the 278 men sent to CECOT have been returned. Meanwhile their lawyer has been arrested and "disappeared" in El Salvador.
Reposted by Valentina Barca
The government was wrong to cut winter fuel payments.
It was wrong to keep the 2-child benefit cap.
It was wrong to slash disability benefits.
Pushing people into poverty is the wrong thing to do. The right thing to do is redistribute wealth and power so that everyone can live in dignity.
It was wrong to keep the 2-child benefit cap.
It was wrong to slash disability benefits.
Pushing people into poverty is the wrong thing to do. The right thing to do is redistribute wealth and power so that everyone can live in dignity.
May 6, 2025 at 9:19 AM
The government was wrong to cut winter fuel payments.
It was wrong to keep the 2-child benefit cap.
It was wrong to slash disability benefits.
Pushing people into poverty is the wrong thing to do. The right thing to do is redistribute wealth and power so that everyone can live in dignity.
It was wrong to keep the 2-child benefit cap.
It was wrong to slash disability benefits.
Pushing people into poverty is the wrong thing to do. The right thing to do is redistribute wealth and power so that everyone can live in dignity.
Reposted by Valentina Barca
3/ How did Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum became the most popular president in the world? Read this.
“We will not return to the neoliberal model … We will continue with Mexican Humanism and with the maxim of ‘For the good of all, first the poor.’”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the...
“We will not return to the neoliberal model … We will continue with Mexican Humanism and with the maxim of ‘For the good of all, first the poor.’”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the...
The Fourth Transformation | David Adler, Vanessa Romero Rocha, and Michael Galant
The political economy of Claudia Sheinbaum’s popularity
www.phenomenalworld.org
April 29, 2025 at 8:45 PM
3/ How did Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum became the most popular president in the world? Read this.
“We will not return to the neoliberal model … We will continue with Mexican Humanism and with the maxim of ‘For the good of all, first the poor.’”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the...
“We will not return to the neoliberal model … We will continue with Mexican Humanism and with the maxim of ‘For the good of all, first the poor.’”
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/the...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
I've had a long-running thread on twitter on the real migration crisis (not enough migrants). Will start posting here... but for the earlier 1,000-plus examples, see here:
x.com/charlesjkenn...
x.com/charlesjkenn...
x.com
x.com
November 11, 2024 at 3:01 PM
I've had a long-running thread on twitter on the real migration crisis (not enough migrants). Will start posting here... but for the earlier 1,000-plus examples, see here:
x.com/charlesjkenn...
x.com/charlesjkenn...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
"Health insurance coverage among pregnant women and new mothers in the DRC remains critically low at 3%"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Exploring health insurance as a financial buffer in Maternal and Child Health in the Democratic Republic of Congo
This study investigates the low health insurance coverage among pregnant women and new mothers in selected health zones of DRC, aiming to identify und…
www.sciencedirect.com
April 28, 2025 at 2:27 PM
"Health insurance coverage among pregnant women and new mothers in the DRC remains critically low at 3%"
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
New research from @itep.org found that Trump’s tariffs will hike the taxes of the poorest 20% of Americans by 6.2%.
Meanwhile, the richest 1% will see a 1.7% hike.
Everybody suffers under tariffs, but as always, it’s the poor that hurt the most.
itep.org/trump-tariff...
Meanwhile, the richest 1% will see a 1.7% hike.
Everybody suffers under tariffs, but as always, it’s the poor that hurt the most.
itep.org/trump-tariff...
The Impact of Trump’s Tariffs
The tariffs proposed by Donald Trump, which are far larger than any on the books today, would significantly raise the prices faced by American consumers across the income scale.
itep.org
April 23, 2025 at 9:22 PM
New research from @itep.org found that Trump’s tariffs will hike the taxes of the poorest 20% of Americans by 6.2%.
Meanwhile, the richest 1% will see a 1.7% hike.
Everybody suffers under tariffs, but as always, it’s the poor that hurt the most.
itep.org/trump-tariff...
Meanwhile, the richest 1% will see a 1.7% hike.
Everybody suffers under tariffs, but as always, it’s the poor that hurt the most.
itep.org/trump-tariff...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
Would it surprise you to learn that Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple, and Microsoft have avoided nearly $278 billion in corporate taxes over the last decade?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
It's time for wealthy individuals AND corporations to pay up. www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
Yeah, didn’t think so.
It's time for wealthy individuals AND corporations to pay up. www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
What Donald Trump has said about raising minimum wage as new bill proposed
The president has historically opposed federal minimum wage hikes as Democrats push a 2025 bill to raise wages nationwide.
www.newsweek.com
April 15, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Would it surprise you to learn that Amazon, Meta, Alphabet, Netflix, Apple, and Microsoft have avoided nearly $278 billion in corporate taxes over the last decade?
Yeah, didn’t think so.
It's time for wealthy individuals AND corporations to pay up. www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
Yeah, didn’t think so.
It's time for wealthy individuals AND corporations to pay up. www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...
Powerful, if scary, read.
THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.
The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.
Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...
The rise of end times fascism
The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them
www.theguardian.com
April 14, 2025 at 9:38 PM
Powerful, if scary, read.
Reposted by Valentina Barca
With Trump gutting the $17.75 minimum wage for contract workers, corporations with government contracts are free to cut wages for hundreds of thousands of workers.
That can mean up to 25% pay cut—a devastating amount for those just trying to get by. www.americanprogress.org/article/trum...
That can mean up to 25% pay cut—a devastating amount for those just trying to get by. www.americanprogress.org/article/trum...
Trump Just Cut the Minimum Wage for Hundreds of Thousands of Private Sector Workers
By tearing up a Biden-era executive order that set a minimum wage for workers on federal contracts, the Trump administration has made some private sector workers vulnerable to pay cuts of up to 25 per...
www.americanprogress.org
April 14, 2025 at 9:23 PM
With Trump gutting the $17.75 minimum wage for contract workers, corporations with government contracts are free to cut wages for hundreds of thousands of workers.
That can mean up to 25% pay cut—a devastating amount for those just trying to get by. www.americanprogress.org/article/trum...
That can mean up to 25% pay cut—a devastating amount for those just trying to get by. www.americanprogress.org/article/trum...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
My new post mapping out 69 actions that President Trump has taken in the last twelve weeks to undermine democracy, undermine the rule of law, attack enemies, suppress dissent and control information.
Do read and share. Full 🧵 tomorrow hopefully!
christinapagel.substack.com/p/a-republic...
Do read and share. Full 🧵 tomorrow hopefully!
christinapagel.substack.com/p/a-republic...
“A republic, if you can keep it” - but can the US keep it? How Trump is dismantling democracy
Mapping out 69 actions that President Trump has taken in the last twelve weeks to undermine democracy, undermine the rule of law, attack enemies, suppress dissent and control information
christinapagel.substack.com
April 13, 2025 at 10:07 PM
My new post mapping out 69 actions that President Trump has taken in the last twelve weeks to undermine democracy, undermine the rule of law, attack enemies, suppress dissent and control information.
Do read and share. Full 🧵 tomorrow hopefully!
christinapagel.substack.com/p/a-republic...
Do read and share. Full 🧵 tomorrow hopefully!
christinapagel.substack.com/p/a-republic...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
US tells UN's FAO to stop "distracting focus on climate" and instead help farmers adapt to drought & extreme heat. 🤔
usunrome.usmission.gov/u-s-statemen...
usunrome.usmission.gov/u-s-statemen...
U.S. Statement Delivered at the 177 Session of the FAO Council
usunrome.usmission.gov
April 9, 2025 at 8:19 PM
US tells UN's FAO to stop "distracting focus on climate" and instead help farmers adapt to drought & extreme heat. 🤔
usunrome.usmission.gov/u-s-statemen...
usunrome.usmission.gov/u-s-statemen...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
Tax matters may seem almost administrative and of negligible importance within this context, but Israel’s withholding of tax sovereignty has been a significant and compounding factor in the denial of Palestinian rights. taxjustice.net/2025/04/09/a...
A tax justice lens on Palestine - Tax Justice Network
Tax has been an important tool of Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.
taxjustice.net
April 9, 2025 at 6:38 AM
Tax matters may seem almost administrative and of negligible importance within this context, but Israel’s withholding of tax sovereignty has been a significant and compounding factor in the denial of Palestinian rights. taxjustice.net/2025/04/09/a...
Reposted by Valentina Barca
In the latest ODID blog, @ophioxford.bsky.social Director Sabina Alkire highlights a lesser-known casualty of the current tumult in humanitarian assistance, the flagship Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program
www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/blog/flying-...
www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/blog/flying-...
April 8, 2025 at 11:26 AM
In the latest ODID blog, @ophioxford.bsky.social Director Sabina Alkire highlights a lesser-known casualty of the current tumult in humanitarian assistance, the flagship Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) Program
www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/blog/flying-...
www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/blog/flying-...
My beloved old professor Ha-Joon Chang on why #tariffs make sense for some countries but definitely not in this case (think child development) youtu.be/Shz3mSMqW04?... @garyseconomics.bsky.social
Special: Can tariffs make you rich? with Ha-Joon Chang
YouTube video by Garys Economics
youtu.be
April 4, 2025 at 10:36 AM
My beloved old professor Ha-Joon Chang on why #tariffs make sense for some countries but definitely not in this case (think child development) youtu.be/Shz3mSMqW04?... @garyseconomics.bsky.social
Reposted by Valentina Barca
I'm seeing a huge spike in interest in tariffs from people who normally don't work in the economics of international trade. Here are a few useful things to know about them. (1/14)
April 4, 2025 at 4:33 AM
I'm seeing a huge spike in interest in tariffs from people who normally don't work in the economics of international trade. Here are a few useful things to know about them. (1/14)
Reposted by Valentina Barca
New blog by @justsand.bsky.social and me on USAID cuts by country and updated (again) sectoral cuts based on the list that went to Congress today.
Ukraine $1.4bn cut. Ethiopia, the DRC, Colombia, South Africa, Palestine, Bangladesh, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Tanzania >$200m
Ukraine $1.4bn cut. Ethiopia, the DRC, Colombia, South Africa, Palestine, Bangladesh, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Tanzania >$200m
March 26, 2025 at 8:28 PM
New blog by @justsand.bsky.social and me on USAID cuts by country and updated (again) sectoral cuts based on the list that went to Congress today.
Ukraine $1.4bn cut. Ethiopia, the DRC, Colombia, South Africa, Palestine, Bangladesh, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Tanzania >$200m
Ukraine $1.4bn cut. Ethiopia, the DRC, Colombia, South Africa, Palestine, Bangladesh, Kenya, Afghanistan, and Tanzania >$200m