Corruption is one of the major roadblocks to fighting global poverty. Too often, money meant for the world’s poorest people ends up in the hands of corrupt regimes. One reason corruption persists is that it's notoriously difficult to track. Politicians don’t often answer truthfully when asked, “How much of your income last year came from bribes?”

There are, however, some innovative economic strategies that can be used to measure corruption, Raymond Fisman and Edward Miguel write for Foreign Policy (excerpt only available online), some of which could help reduce the graft and bribery that hinders global development.

Construction, according to Fishman and Miguel, is one area where corruption can have a measurable effect. A classic example of mafia-style graft is when a construction company buys cheaper-than-reported materials to build bridges and roads and splits the left over money with corrupt officials. By using engineers to test which companies used cheaper-than-reported materials, economists could find out which companies were engaging in corruption.

From there, preventing corruption becomes a simple exercise in experimentation. “Just as medical scientists experiment with different ways of treating human diseases,” Fishman and Miguel write, “policy makers can experiment with different solutions to social problems.” Governments should toy with stricter punishments, greater transparency, and other methods in verifiable ways using control groups and basic scientific principles to figure out how best to tackle corruption. The idea won’t end corruption and poverty tomorrow, but it could make global funds for development a little bit safer.

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Everyone seems to be watching the economy a little more closely, whether they're most concerned about the foreclosure crisis, credit card debt, or paying for college. Media coverage often misses the boat on these complex issues, but lively economics blogs have stepped in to fill the void, delving into politics and media criticism while deciphering the latest research. Here are a few to get you started:

Dean Baker, codirector of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, criticizes and clarifies the media’s economic coverage at the American Prospect's Beat the Press blog. 

Brad DeLong, a professor at the University of California–Berkeley, writes Grasping Reality with Both Hands, where he frequently corrects errors in economic and political reporting under the not-so-subtle heading “[Publication Name] Death Spiral Watch."

Marginal Revolution , an oft-updated site maintained by George Mason University economics professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, appears on DeLong's helpful list of recommended econ blogs. Last week, Tabarrok posted an in-depth critique of the latest "math wars" study that questioned the existence of a math ability gap between boys and girls, attracting dozens of responses about sexism and former Harvard President Larry Summers' 2005 imbroglio over sex and scientific ability.

Another pair of George Mason economists, Donald Boudreaux and Russell Roberts, author the more conservative Cafe Hayek, which can be refreshing in challenging such conventional wisdom as the evils of Wal-Mart or off-shore drilling. 

At The Fly Bottle, Cato Institute research fellow Will Wilkinson offers a center-right view of economics, from critiquing global-warming alarmism to questioning the benefit of the minimum-wage hike. 

Dani Rodrik is a Harvard professor who blogs (infrequently, but quite readably) about globalization and economic development. For a more regular feed, Rodrik recommends Yale political scientist Chris Blattman's economic development blog.

Image by genericface, licensed under Creative Commons.

Shopping malls, once proud bastions of air-conditioned capitalism, are transforming into less self-contained structures, reports OnEarth, a result of competition from strip malls and big-box retailers.

“In 2006 there was only one new enclosed mall built in this country,” says Ellen Dunham-Jones, director of the Georgia Institute of Technology’s archi­tecture program. In the 1990s, Durham-Jones says, it was common to see 140 new malls each year. Now, dozens of malls are dead or dying (witness the long list of the deceased at DeadMalls.com). To revitalize struggling malls, developers are converting them into “compact, well-planned, walkable communities with a dense mix of homes and small businesses” in communities from New Jersey to Colorado.

Mall makeovers tips in New Urban News include adding upper-floor housing, outdoor-facing stores, parking ramps in place of parking lots, and pedestrian connections to nearby neighborhoods.

“A lot of bad design practices are being resolved, knitting these malls back into the neighborhoods,” says designer Richard Huffman to New Urban News.

Outdated zoning laws obstruct mall conversions, urban policy specialist Christopher Leinberger tells OnEarth, but he believes increasing demand for "walkable urban living" will provide the necessary momentum to keep malls evolving.

Image by Nate Grigg, licensed under Creative Commons.

International development experts are taking their advice to the small screen. Developments magazine reports on Shamba Shape-Up!, a new home-makeover show in Kenya that combines entertainment and education to explore the sorts of problems faced by poor farming families. Mediae, the independent production company behind the show, plans to film six episodes starting this month. The show's pilot addressed a typical concern—water—by installing rainwater collection tanks on a farm located 3 kilometers from the nearest source.

Mediae’s message-driven drama Makatano Junction has enjoyed popularity since 2005, attracting five million viewers in its third season by addressing pertinent issues such as child sexual abuse and violence against women. Shape-Up! creators expect similar success.

—Lisa Gulya