World leaders have an £8tn plan to save the planet – it’ll never work, but this could

Many proposals have been made in the past ten years to make Haiti’s public sector more effective. In spite of these efforts, public services remain in a critical state, illustrated by strikes, delays caused by red tape, and difficulties for citizens to do things like getting a passport, registering land, or clearing customs for imported goods. The improvement of public services continues to pose a challenge for Haiti.

What's the best way for the United Nations to help the developing world? Right now, the organisation is in the process of setting its global development agenda for the next 15 years - and the most important thing to do is to set goals which it can actually achieve, and to work out what the best way to spend its money is. Economics may well show the way.

By Bjorn Lomborg 02 Jul 2010