A report done by the DIE for the GIZ (click the links to resolve the alphabet soup). From the Executive Summary: This report sheds light on some selected cases of recent progress by central banks in Africa in striking a balance between their multiple, and at times conflicting, objectives. Taking the cases of Kenya, Nigeria… Read More »
A new essay reviewing recent literature and World Bank studies on the informal sector. From the abstract: Many countries have expressed an interest in the size, performance and motivation of the informal sector, especially where the informal sector provides the livelihood and employment for a critical segment of the population. This essay reviews recent literature,… Read More »
A couple of days ago on Twitter I promised to do a short reading list on economic informality. Here goes: The work that introduced the concept of informal economy: Hart, K. (1973). Informal Income Opportunities and Urban Employment in Ghana. The Journal of Modern African Studies, 11(1), 61–89. See also, Leys, C. (1973). Interpreting African… Read More »
The Africa editor of The Economist talks to Lizzy Donnelly of Chatham House on Boko Haram. I mostly agree with her, mainly because she made sure to express the uncertainties about Boko Haram, the disagreement among ‘Nigeria watchers’ and ‘analysts’ on the group, and the fact that there is so much that is not known… Read More »
H/T 3quarksdaily
In the current edition of The Economist: In some countries it [citizenship] is, in effect, on sale. In others, such as America, it may be an accident of birth, with no conscious choice involved. Rather than making a fetish out of passports, a better approach would be to use residence (especially tax residence) as the… Read More »
Robert Frisk writes in The Independent: The banks and the rating agencies have become the dictators of the West. Like the Mubaraks and Ben Alis, the banks believed – and still believe – they are owners of their countries. The elections which give them power have – through the gutlessness and collusion of governments – become… Read More »
1.Immigrant networks are a rare bright spark in the world economy. Rich countries should welcome them – The Economist 2. What’s your flavour? Italian or Spanish? – BBC Business Editor 3. Black France – Africa is a country 4. The dangerous cocktail of global money and local politics – Moisés Naím 5. On Nigeria’s Petroleum… Read More »
I’d been waiting for the first major newspaper columnist to write something about this. Here it is, from Evans-Pritchard of The Telegraph: As I long feared, the flood of cheap credit into Southern Europe and the slow death of Club Med industry by currency asphyxiation have together created such a dangerous situation for world finance… Read More »