Copenhagen Consensus: How to save the world on a budget of $75 billion.

You Have $75 Billion To Save the World. How Would You Spend It?


The 10 most effective ideas for improving the world.
May 14 2012 2:33 PM

You Have $75 Billion To Save the World

How would you spend it?

Malaria Shot.
A child is given a malaria shot. A panel of Nobel-laureate economists found that the best ways to help the world's poor are bundled micronutrient interventions and expanded subsidies for malaria combination treatment

Photograph by Rick Scavetta U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs.





While they met in Copenhagen, I presented Slate readers with the same proposals. In polls accompanying each article, I asked Slate readers to basically answer the same question as the Nobel laureates: How would you prioritize these investments to best help the world? Today we have compiled all of your votes, and here you can find out what Slate readers think and how it differs from the Nobel laureate results.



  2. Expanding the subsidy for malaria combination treatment
  3. Expanded childhood immunization coverage
  4. Deworming of schoolchildren, to improve educational and health outcomes
  5. Expanding tuberculosis treatment
  8. Strengthening surgical capacity
  9. Hepatitis B immunization
  11. Salt reduction campaign to reduce chronic disease
  13. Conditional Cash Transfers for School Attendance
  14. Accelerated HIV Vaccine R&D
  16. Borehole and public hand-pump intervention

The single most important investment, according to the panel, would be to step up the fight against malnutrition. As I reported in the Slate series, new research for the project by John Hoddinott and colleagues of the International Food Policy Research Institute and Peter Orazem of Iowa State University focuses on an investment of $3 billion annually. This would purchase a bundle of interventions, including micronutrient provision, complementary foods, treatment for worms and diarrheal diseases, and behavior-change programs, all of which could reduce chronic undernutrition by 36 percent in developing countries.

In total, such an investment would help more than 100 million children start their lives without stunted growth or malnourishment. And comprehensive research now shows that such interventions would stay with them for life: Their bodies and muscles would grow faster, their cognitive abilities would improve, and they would pay more attention in school (and stay there longer). Studies show that, decades down the line, these children would be more productive, make more money, have fewer kids, and begin a virtuous circle of dramatic development.

Such opportunities come sharply into focus when you ask some of the world’s best minds to find the biggest bang for the buck. Micronutrient provision is rarely celebrated, but it makes a world of difference.

Likewise, just $300 million would prevent 300,000 child deaths if it were used to strengthen the Global Fund’s malaria-financing mechanism, which makes combination therapies cheaper for poor countries. Put in economic terms, the benefits are 35 times higher than the costs—even without taking into account that it safeguards our most effective malaria drug from future drug resistance. Later this year, donors will decide whether to renew this facility. The panel’s findings should help to persuade them to do so.


For a similar amount, 300 million children could be dewormed in schools. By not sharing their food with intestinal parasites, they, too, would become more alert, stay longer in school, and grow up to be more productive adults—another cause that needs much more public attention.




When it comes to climate change, the experts recommend spending a small amount—roughly $1 billion—to investigate the feasibility of cooling the planet through geoengineering options. This would allow us to understand better the technology’s risks, costs, and benefits. Moreover, the research could potentially give us low-cost, effective insurance against global warming.


The $75 billion budget chosen for the Copenhagen Consensus project is large enough to make a real difference, but small enough that we must choose—as in the real world—the projects that can achieve the most good. The expert panel’s list shows us that there are many smart solutions waiting to be implemented.

A version of this article was originally published by Project Syndicate. For more from Project Syndicate, visit their new Web site, and follow them on Twitter or Facebook.