Max Roser

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Max Roser
Max Roser wearing black and yellow.jpg
Born1983 (age 4041)
Academic career
FieldEconomics of income distribution, poverty, global development, global health
Institution Nuffield College, Oxford
Oxford Martin School
Influences Tony Atkinson, Amartya Sen, Angus Deaton, Hans Rosling
Website www.maxroser.com
www.ourworldindata.org

Max Roser (born 1983) is an economist and philosopher who focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Roser is professor at the University of Oxford where he directs the program on global development, based at the Oxford Martin School. [3] He is the founder and director of the research publication Our World in Data. [4]

Early life and education

Roser was born in Kirchheimbolanden, Germany, a village close to the border with France. In 1999, he and a friend won a prize in the German youth science competition Jugend forscht with a model of a self-navigating vacuum cleaner. [5] Der Spiegel reported that he travelled the length of the Nile from the mouth to the source, and that he crossed the Himalayas and the Andes. [6]

He has two undergraduate degrees (in geoscience and philosophy) and two master's degrees (in economics, and philosophy). [6] Roser completed his dissertation in 2011 at the University of Innsbruck in Austria. [7]

Career

In 2012, inequality and poverty researcher Tony Atkinson hired Roser at the University of Oxford where he collaborated with Piketty, Morelli, and Atkinson. [8] In 2015, he established a research team at the University of Oxford which is studying global development. [9]

He founded Our World In Data, a scientific web publication with the goal to present "research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems." [10] During the first years he financed his project by working as a bicycle tour guide around Europe. [11]

Our World In Data covers a range of aspects of development: global health, food provision, the growth and distribution of incomes, violence, rights, wars, technology, education, and environmental changes, among others. The publication makes use of data visualisations which are licensed under Creative Commons and are widely used in research, in the media, and as teaching material. [12] In 2019 he worked with Y Combinator on Our World in Data. [13]

Motivation

Roser said that there are three messages of his work: "The world is much better; The world is awful; The world can be much better". [14] He listed global poverty, inequality, existential risks, human rights abuse, and humanity's environmental impact among the world's most severe problems. [1] [15]

About his motivation for this work he wrote "The mission of this work has never changed: from the first days in 2011 Our World in Data focussed on the big global problems and asked how it is possible to make progress against them. The enemies of this effort were also always the same: apathy and cynicism." [16] He said that "it is because the world is terrible still that it is so important to write about how the world became a better place." [14]

He is critical of the mass media's excessive focus on single events which he claims is not helpful in understanding "the long-lasting, forceful changes that reshape our world, as well as the large, long-standing problems that continue to confront us." [1] [17] [18] In contrast to the event-focussed reporting of the news media Roser advocates the adoption of a broader perspective on global change, and in particular a focus on those living in poverty. [18] The focus on the upper classes, especially in historical perspective, is misleading since it is not exposing the hardship of those in the worst living conditions. [19]

He advocates looking at larger trends in poverty, education, health and violence since these are slowly, but persistently changing the world and are neglected in the reporting of today's mass media. [18]

Cartogram by Max Roser showing the distribution of the global population. Each of the 15,266 pixels represents the home country of 500,000 people. Global population cartogram.png
Cartogram by Max Roser showing the distribution of the global population. Each of the 15,266 pixels represents the home country of 500,000 people.

He is known for his research how global living conditions are changing and his visualisations of these trends. [20] [21] [22] He has shown that in many societies in the past a large share (over 40%) of children died. [23]

Research

Global CO2 emissions by world region since 1750 - a chart from Our World in Data Global annual CO2 emissions by world region since 1750.svg
Global CO2 emissions by world region since 1750 – a chart from Our World in Data

Roser's research is concerned with global problems such as poverty, climate change, child mortality and inequality. [2] In 2015 research with Tony Atkinson, Brian Nolan and others he studied how the benefits from economic growth are distributed. [24] [25] [26]

In October 2019 he co-authored a study of child mortality. It was the first global study that mapped child death on the level of subnational district. [27] The study, published in Nature, was described as an important step to make action possible that further reduces child mortality. [28]

He and Felix Pretis found that the growth rate in CO2 emission intensity exceeded the projections of all climate scenarios. [29] With Jesus Crespo Cuaresma he studied the history of international trade and its impact on economic inequality. [30]

Roser has criticized the practice of focusing on the international poverty line alone. In his research he suggests a poverty at 10.89 international-$ per day. [31] The researchers say this is the minimum level people needed to have access to basic healthcare. The reason for the low global poverty line is to focus the attention on the world's very poorest population. [32] He proposes using several different poverty lines to understand what is happening to global poverty.

In global health research he studied the impact of poverty on poor health and disease and contributed to a textbook on global health. [33] [34] His most cited article, coauthored with Hannah Ritchie and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, is concerned with global population growth. [35]

Roser is a regular speaker at conferences where he presents empirical data on how the world is changing. [36] He is part of the Statistical Advisory Panel of UNDP. [37] UN Secretary-General António Guterres invited him to internal retreats attended by the heads of the UN institutions to speak about his global development research. [38]

Tina Rosenberg emphasised in The New York Times that Roser's work presents a "big picture that’s an important counterpoint to the constant barrage of negative world news." [39] Angus Deaton cites Roser in his book The Great Escape. [40] His research is cited in academic journals including Science, [41] Nature, [42] and The Lancet. [43] [44]

Data visualization

The data visualization expert Edward Tufte repeatedly cited and reprinted the work by Max Roser in his books. [45] [46]

Roser developed a global cartogram in which the area of each country represents the size of the country’s population. He published it open access and it became widely used in the media (including the FT, The Economist, and in open source applications).

Life expectancy by world region, from 1770 to 2018 Life expectancy by world region, from 1770 to 2018.svg
Life expectancy by world region, from 1770 to 2018

Awards

In 2019 he was listed in second place among the "World’s Top 50 Thinkers" by Prospect Magazine. [47]

In 2019 Our World in Data won the Lovie Award, the European web award, "in recognition of their outstanding use of data and the internet to supply the general public with understandable data-driven research – the kind necessary to invoke social, economic, and environmental change." [48]

In 2021 he received the Covid Innovation Heroes Award "for an outstanding contribution to public understanding for helping people across the world see, and more importantly understand, critical pandemic data." [49]

In 2022 he was selected as one of "The Future Perfect 50", as one of 50 scientists and writers who are building a better future. [50]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extreme poverty</span> Condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs

Extreme poverty is the most severe type of poverty, defined by the United Nations (UN) as "a condition characterized by severe deprivation of basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information. It depends not only on income but also on access to services". Historically, other definitions have been proposed within the United Nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporatocracy</span> Society controlled by business corporations

Corporatocracy is an economic, political and judicial system controlled by business corporations or corporate interests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economy of the United States</span>

The United States is a highly developed mixed economy. It is the world's largest economy by nominal GDP; it is also the second largest by purchasing power parity (PPP), behind China. It has the world's sixth highest per capita GDP (nominal) and the eighth highest per capita GDP (PPP) as of 2024. The U.S. accounted for 26% of the global economy in 2023 in nominal terms, and about 15.5% in PPP terms. The U.S. dollar is the currency of record most used in international transactions and is the world's reserve currency, backed by a large U.S. treasuries market, its role as the reference standard for the petrodollar system, and its linked eurodollar. Several countries use it as their official currency and in others it is the de facto currency. Since the end of World War II, the economy has achieved relatively steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology.

Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards and concerns".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty</span> Lack of financial assets or possessions

Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a certain standard of living. Poverty can have diverse environmental, legal, social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in statistics or economics there are two main measures: absolute poverty which compares income against the amount needed to meet basic personal needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter; secondly, relative poverty measures when a person cannot meet a minimum level of living standards, compared to others in the same time and place. The definition of relative poverty varies from one country to another, or from one society to another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty threshold</span> Minimum income deemed adequate to live in a specific country or place

The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for the average adult. The cost of housing, such as the rent for an apartment, usually makes up the largest proportion of this estimate, so economists track the real estate market and other housing cost indicators as a major influence on the poverty line. Individual factors are often used to account for various circumstances, such as whether one is a parent, elderly, a child, married, etc. The poverty threshold may be adjusted annually. In practice, like the definition of poverty, the official or common understanding of the poverty line is significantly higher in developed countries than in developing countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic inequality</span> Distribution of income or wealth between different groups

Economic inequality is an umbrella term for a) income inequality or distribution of income, b) wealth inequality or distribution of wealth, and c) consumption inequality. Each of these can be measured between two or more nations, within a single nation, or between and within sub-populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Income distribution</span> How a countrys total GDP is distributed amongst its population

In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes economic inequality which is a concern in almost all countries around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty reduction</span> Measures to reduce poverty permanently

Poverty reduction, poverty relief, or poverty alleviation is a set of measures, both economic and humanitarian, that are intended to permanently lift people out of poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Atkinson</span> British economist (1944–2017)

Sir Anthony Barnes Atkinson was a British economist, Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics, and senior research fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard G. Wilkinson</span>

Richard Gerald Wilkinson is a British social epidemiologist, author, advocate, and left-wing political activist. He is Professor Emeritus of social epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, having retired in 2008. He is also Honorary Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London and Visiting Professor at University of York. In 2009, Richard co-founded The Equality Trust. Richard was awarded a 2013 Silver Rose Award from Solidar for championing equality and the 2014 Charles Cully Memorial Medal by the Irish Cancer Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Branko Milanović</span> Serbian-American economist

Branko Milanović is a Serbian-American economist. He is most known for his work on income distribution and inequality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Income inequality in the United States</span>

Income inequality has fluctuated considerably in the United States since measurements began around 1915, moving in an arc between peaks in the 1920s and 2000s, with a 30-year period of relatively lower inequality between 1950 and 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Social inequality</span> Uneven distribution of resources in a society

Social inequality occurs when resources within a society are distributed unevenly, often as a result of inequitable allocation practices that create distinct unequal patterns based on socially defined categories of people. Differences in accessing social goods within society are influenced by factors like power, religion, kinship, prestige, race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, intelligence and class. Social inequality usually implies the lack of equality of outcome, but may alternatively be conceptualized as a lack of equality in access to opportunity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poverty in the United States</span>

In the United States, poverty has both social and political implications. In 2020, there were 37.2 million people in poverty. Some of the many causes include income, inequality, inflation, unemployment, debt traps and poor education. The majority of adults living in poverty are employed and have at least a high school education. Although the US is a relatively wealthy country by international standards, it has a persistently high poverty rate compared to other developed countries due in part to a less generous welfare system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rural poverty</span> Poverty in rural areas, which are often less developed than urban areas worldwide

Rural poverty refers to situations where people living in non-urban regions are in a state or condition of lacking the financial resources and essentials for living. It takes account of factors of rural society, rural economy, and political systems that give rise to the marginalization and economic disadvantage found there. Rural areas, because of their small, spread-out populations, typically have less well maintained infrastructure and a harder time accessing markets, which tend to be concentrated in population centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Causes of poverty</span>

The causes of poverty may vary with respect to nation, region, and in comparison with other countries at the global level. Yet, there is a commonality amongst these causes. Philosophical perspectives and especially historical perspectives, including some factors at a micro and macro level can be considered in understanding these causes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our World in Data</span> Website that presents data and statistics of socially relevant topics

Our World in Data (OWID) is a scientific online publication that focuses on large global problems such as poverty, disease, hunger, climate change, war, existential risks, and inequality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Hickel</span> Economic anthropologist (born 1982)

Jason Edward Hickel is an anthropologist and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Hickel's research and writing focuses on economic anthropology and development, and is particularly opposed to capitalism, neocolonialism, as well as economic growth as a measure of human development.

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Work