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According to UNICEF, 23.1% of American children under the age of seventeen live in poverty, which makes the United States rank second out of thirty-five economically advanced countries ranked in that category. Romania ranks first, with 25.5% of children living in poverty.

THE propaganda message, scrawled in white paint on the side of a wood-frame house, could hardly be more blunt: "Cure stupidity, cure poverty". The cure for both, in one of China's poorest counties, seems to be a daily nutritional supplement for children.

Banker to the Poor is an inspiring memoir of the birth of microcredit, written in a\nconversational tone that makes it both moving and enjoyable to read. The Grameen\nBank is now a $2.5 billion banking enterprise in Bangladesh, while the microcredit\nmodel has spread to over 50 countries worldwide, from the U.S. to Papua New Guinea,\nNorway to Nepal. Ever optimistic, Yunus travels the globe spreading the belief that\npoverty can be eliminated: "...the poor, once economically empowered, are the most\ndetermined fighters in the battle to solve the population problem; end illiteracy; and live\nhealthier, better lives. When policy makers finally realize that the poor are their\npartners, rather than bystanders or enemies, we will progress much faster that we do\ntoday." Dr. Yunus's efforts prove that hope is a global currency. (Reviewed by Shawn\nCarkonen)

In this sobering but optimistic manifesto, development economist Sachs (The End of\nPoverty) argues that the crises facing humanity are daunting-but solutions to them are\nreadily at hand. Sachs focuses on four challenges for the coming decades: heading off\nglobal warming and environmental destruction; stabilizing the world's population;\nending extreme poverty; and breaking the political logjams that hinder global\ncooperation on these issues. The author analyzes economic data, demographic trends\nand climate science to create a lucid, accessible and suitably grim exposition of looming\nproblems, but his forte is elaborating concrete, pragmatic, low-cost remedies complete\nwith benchmarks and budgets. Sachs's entire agenda would cost less than 3% of the\nworld's annual income, and he notes that a mere two days' worth of Pentagon spending\nwould fund a comprehensive anti-malaria program for Africa, saving countless lives.\nForthright government action is the key to avoiding catastrophe, the author contends,\nnot the unilateral, militarized approach to international problems that he claims is\npursued by the Bush administration. Combining trenchant analysis with a resounding\ncall to arms, Sachs's book is an important contribution to the debate over the world's\nfuture. (Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All\nrights reserved.)

* Filmed: August 2006 * Running Time: 17.38 * Description: Nicholas Negroponte discusses his work to provide cheap ($100), portable, self-charging laptops to developing countries. He talks about how these laptops can change education and ultimately reduce poverty. * Rating: Good * 7-Revolutions Sections: Technology, Information Processing.

IN THE search for the villain behind the global financial crisis, some have pointed to inequality as a culprit. In his 2010 book "Fault Lines", Raghuram Rajan argued that inequality was a cause of the crisis...

This article connects issues of migration and remittances to African economies, poverty, and terrorism.