Living Standards

Tibet Rises From Poverty: Fantasy And Reality

A tea hostess stands next to a mural depicting Tibet on display in the Tibet room in the Great Hall of the People during the Tibetan province delegation meeting held as part of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, March 10, 2017. (AP/Andy Wong)
As a result of Hollywood and a fascination with Buddhism among certain celebrities and in some bohemian circles, many Americans are deeply misinformed about Tibet.

The Population Boom Could Save the World

The common thought among young people is that our rocketing population growth is going to overpopulate the earth. But given the number of people in poverty, it looks like population growth is actually good for poverty – more people means more brains, which means more ideas, inventions, and innovations.
This week on Words and Numbers, Antony Davies and James R. Harrigan talk about how and why the world is improving despite widespread negativity towards the idea of a growing world population, and why that negativity persists regardless of the prosperity we see every day.