Episode Details

We're announcing a new development magazine: In Development.

Our goal is to promote discourse on development without dogma. In other words, we public stories doing deep dives into pressing development issues, backed up by evidence, argument, and experience.

The first piece is by Paul Niehaus, an Economics Professor at the University of California, San Diego, and co-founder of GiveDirectly.

He talks about the complementary role of evidence in the evolution of GiveDirectly, which has recently transferred its billionth dollar. Why did they need evidence? What kind of evidence did they need to convince themselves and others? What were the surprises? Whose preferences does such evidence reveal or promote? What role does ‘power’ play in the generation of such evidence?

We have one article out each week. The next one will have a line of argument that, mildly put, may not agree with today's piece.

---

First published:
April 17th, 2026

Source:
https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/jAhnPqceJuAkXgfur/in-development-magazine-launch

Linkpost URL:
https://indevelopmentmag.com/money-for-nothing-the-roles-of-evidence-in-givedirectlys-journey-to-1-billion-delivered/

---

Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.