This project was built on the positive experience from the Copenhagen Consensus 2004. It was designed to provide an answer to the question:
To answer that question, the Copenhagen Consensus Center engaged 59 of the world's top economists, in a project that took several years to complete.
First, the Center commissioned Research Papers on the costs and benefits of solutions to ten different global challenges. Two sets of papers - 'Challenge Papers' and 'Perspective Papers' - were commissioned, to ensure that there was a range of expert points-of-view. More background information about the different Copenhagen Consensus papers can be found here.
As in the Copenhagen Consensus 2004, an Expert Panel of eight economists - including five Nobel laureates - examined all of the research presented here, and met with the lead authors in May 2008. After deliberations, the Expert Panel created a prioritized list of solutions to the ten challenges, showing which were the most cost-effective investments. This list has been utilized by donors, governments and philanthropists, and gained international attention for recommending a greater focus on battling malnutrition with micronutrients.
To provide another viewpoint on these global challenges and their solutions, a Youth Panel of eighty students was invited to Denmark from around the world. They held a parallel meeting to the Expert Panel discussions, in an event that was open to the public. Like the Expert Panel, the Youth Forum created a prioritized list showing their view of the most (and least) cost-effective solutions.
Several major media organizations, including The Times of London, BBC, and Politiken, launched online exercises so that their readers could prioritize the same solutions considered by the Expert Panel and Youth Forum. The interactive exercise remains available on this website: 'Be the Decision Maker'.
The Copenhagen Consensus 2008 introduced a practical follow-up component, in which Best Practice papers were written outlining the practical steps to implementing the top investments. These papers were launched in Nairobi, Kenya and New York, USA, in 2009.
Copenhagen Consensus 2008 was funded by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and the Randolph Foundation.
