This argumentation neglects secondary effects. Sure it is easy to quantify medicine but assume you have an intervention that doubles people’s income by some means. What are the effects of the additional income? Do they buy medicine, increase hygienic standards? I don’t know, but I suppose there are impactful second-order effects at play.
This argumentation neglects secondary effects. Sure it is easy to quantify medicine but assume you have an intervention that doubles people’s income by some means. What are the effects of the additional income? Do they buy medicine, increase hygienic standards? I don’t know, but I suppose there are impactful second-order effects at play.
GiveDirectly is trying to quantify that. GiveWell already thinks the evidence is good enough to put them in the #2 spot but Giving What We Can disagrees.