How Much have Global Problems Cost the World?

There are often claims that the world is facing more problems than ever. But are we getting better at solving them? There is a startling lack of empirical data to show whether things have deteriorated – or in fact improved.

In this edited volume, Bjorn Lomborg (aka "The Skeptical Environmentalist") organized 22 of the world's leading economists to discuss 10 problems that have blighted human development such as malnutrition, education, climate change, trade barriers, and armed conflicts. Costs of the problems are quantified in percent of GDP, giving readers a unique opportunity to understand the development of each problem over the past century and its likely development into the middle of this century, and to compare the size of the challenges. For example, how bad was air pollution in 1900? How has it deteriorated and what about the future? Did climate change cost more than malnutrition in 2010? Rather than offering definitive answers, this innovative book will spark much-needed debate.