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Sylvan Herskowitz

@sylvanrh.bsky.social

Economist in DIME at World Bank. Study development with (lack of) focus on household finance, gender, digital, and agriculture. Previously IFPRI and Peace Corps 🇳🇪. Opinions are my own, not my employer’s. Reposts != endorsements. sylvanherskowitz.com

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Sylvan Herskowitz@sylvanrh.bsky.social · last yr.

Nice summary of a WASH intervention in DRC by a bunch of my colleagues. Intervention improved access to clean water but didn't improve downstream health outcomes. voxdev.org/topic/health...

Lessons from a community-led WASH programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo

A community-led water, sanitation, and hygiene programme in the Democratic Republic of Congo improved access but was unable to protect child health. Evidence suggests that more investment in water qua...

voxdev.org

Chris Bennett@chrisbennettedu.bsky.social · last yr.

Heartbreaking to see announcements of major layoffs at most research organizations that have played a vital role in supporting federal statistics for education and developing high-quality evidence about what policies/practices actually work. Below are just a few examples from my LinkedIn feed.

Mathematica 65,991 followers 1d • • • • To our clients, partners, and peers: We want to let you know that we are reducing our workforce to align with the needs of our clients and ensure the continued, exceptional support we've offered for decades to the public, private, and philanthropic sectors. The staff we are letting go are skilled, experienced, and passionate about their work. Any organization would be fortunate to have them. Please don't hesitate to reach out if we can be of assistance.Dan Gaylin • 2nd President and CEO, NORC 10h • 너 + Follow Like many of our peer organizations, this week NORC had to reduce our staff to ensure we are operating effectively and have the right mix of skills to align with client needs. The people departing NORC are highly talented and capable professionals, and they have made important contributions to our mission of delivering trustworthy and reliable data and analysis to inform society's most important decisions. They will be valuable employees and colleagues wherever their careers take them next. To each of you who are leaving, and on behalf of everyone at NORC, I offer our deepest thanks and appreciation for your dedicated service and the lasting impact you've made on our organization.marc MDRC 15,135 followers 9h • 0 To our collaborators: Like many of our peer organizations, MDRC has had to reduce our staff in recent days, letting go of many talented and highly skilled professionals. Each of these colleagues would be an asset to another organization, and we encourage you to consider them for any career opportunities you may have. MDRC remains committed to our mission of learning what works to improve policy, practice, and people's well-being.// Westat Westat 35,042 followers 22h • In light of recent industry changes, Westat is making strategic reductions to our workforce to better align with our clients' needs. The talented professionals who are leaving Westat have made significant contributions to our mission and embody our values of uncompromising excellence, client commitment, and innovation. They are current and future leaders in their fields and will undoubtedly be an asset to any organization they join. We remain committed to our mission to improve lives by delivering exceptional data-driven research and technical assistance, fostering insights and solutions to advance health, education, and social and economic opportunity.
Jeff Mosenkis@mosenkis.bsky.social · last yr.

Why Dean Karlan, Chief Economist of USAID resigned yesterday: "I was ready to rebuild from wherever we ended up to identify the most effective programs, figure out how to get them back in place, and to recommend new awards. But I received no response. Zero engagement." 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.

npr.org

emptywheel@emptywheel.bsky.social · last yr.

As Elon demands justifications from all federal workers (including many who are not Executive Branch employees), remember that if he paid his taxes, it'd pay for 677K federal jobs.

Adam Bonica@adambonica.bsky.social · last yr.

How many federal workers would DOGE need to fire to make up for Musk not paying his fair share of taxes? Answer: 677,000. That's 44% of the entire non-DoD federal workforce. Again, this power grab is not about the budget. It’s about politics.

Title: What Costs More: Billionaire Tax Avoidance or Federal Workers? Subtitle: Musk’s tax avoidance could fund 677K federal jobs • Current Tax Rate: 3.27% • Top Federal Tax Rate: 37% Cost Comparison (Bar Chart): • Cost of Musk’s Tax Avoidance (smallest bar, purple) • Cost of Top 100 Billionaires’ Tax Avoidance (largest bar, red) • Total Federal Workforce Salaries (mid-sized bar, green) X-axis ranges from $0B to $380B, showing that billionaire tax avoidance covers a significant portion of federal workforce salaries. Impact on Federal Workforce: • Average Federal Salary: $106,000 • Jobs Musk’s Avoidance Could Fund: 677,782 (29.5% of all federal employees) Federal Workforce Breakdown (Pie Chart): • A segment representing 29.5% of the workforce highlights the share Musk’s avoided taxes could fund, labeled “Share Equal to Musk’s Avoided Taxes: 29.5%”. Sources: • Musk’s Tax Rate: ProPublica • Billionaire Gains: Bloomberg Billionaires Index (Dec. 31, 2024) • Federal Employee Data: USAFacts
The New York Times@nytimes.com · last yr.

Trump administration appointees running USAID have in recent days fired hundreds of employees who help manage responses to urgent humanitarian crises around the world, according to officials and recent employees.

Trump Appointees Fire Hundreds at U.S.A.I.D. Working on Urgent Aid

The firings added to doubts about whether Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the agency’s acting head, supports lifesaving humanitarian assistance, as he has said he does.

nytimes.com

Hank Green@hankgreen.bsky.social · last yr.

History: “Eventually the incompetent fascists invariably lose power and then society recovers in a new and stronger way” Me: “Oh, cool, so what has to happen for the spell to be broken??” History: “mmmm…well, that part is less encouraging.”

NPR@npr.org · last yr.

Congress created several organizations in the 1980s to strengthen democratic institutions worldwide. Human rights activists say the freeze is a gift to authoritarians like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

Trump funding freeze halts decades of U.S. democracy work around the world

Congress created several organizations in 1980s to strengthen democratic institutions worldwide. Human rights activists say the freeze is a gift to authoritarians like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.

npr.org

Taniel@taniel.bsky.social · last yr.

Christian groups like Catholic Relief Services, World Vision, & the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops are also laying off staff and shutting down aid programs due to the Trump-Musk dismantling of the federal gov: — www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02... — www.ncronline.org/news/exclusi...

Exclusive: Catholic Relief Services lays off staff, cuts programs after USAID shakeup

An internal email says CRS is likely to be cut in half this year from Trump's freeze of U.S. foreign assistance. Cuts will "cost people's lives and livelihoods," a former bishops' conference official ...

ncronline.org

hilzoy@hilzoy.bsky.social · last yr.

Gift link. You should read this. It is wrong on so, SO many different levels. It violates basic principles of research ethics in so many different ways. Leaving devices IN PEOPLE'S BODIES. Stopping treatments halfway through, with no one to contact if they get sick. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/h...

Dozens of Clinical Trials Have Been Frozen in Response to Trump’s USAID Order (Gift Article)

The stop-work order on U.S.A.I.D.-funded research has left thousands of people with experimental drugs and devices in their bodies, with no access to monitoring or care.

nytimes.com

Mike Hixenbaugh@mikehixenbaugh.com · last yr.

Under the banner of “government efficiency,” U.S.-grown food and lifesaving medicine meant to help the world’s most vulnerable is instead rotting on cargo ships and in warehouses across the globe. @suzykhimm.bsky.social has the details: www.nbcnews.com/news/politic...

USAID upheaval is paralyzing delivery of food and medicine around the globe

Though humanitarian aid was supposed to be exempt from the Trump-ordered disruption, shipments of lifesaving food and drugs are held up in ports and warehouses.

nbcnews.com