John Comaroff thinks not: Once upon a time, anti-neoliberal theory posited an opposition between state and the free market, arguing that the antidote to the latter lay in the active intervention of the former. But the opposition is false, just another piece of the detritus of the modern history of capital. As states become mega-corporations… Read More »
Ever heard of the D8? They are Iran, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Turkey. Their central bank governors and foreign ministers met in Abuja on Tuesday. The aim? to seek closer economic cooperation that would help protect the group from another global financial crisis. The decision? Under a draft Abuja declaration, the group… Read More »
I think that basic economics, the way it is taught today, tends to give people reflexive pro-free market, anti-government positions — positions that arenot held by people with a deeper exposure to economic thinking. When your understanding of government finances is based on reading the newspaper, it’s somewhat eye-opening to come to college and learn… Read More »
From NEXT: The governor of Nigeria’s central bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has criticized the Federal Government’s continued spending on reducing fuel cost, renewing the call for the removal of a subsidy programme that has gulped trillions of naira but has failed to reach ordinary people as intended. Mr. Sanusi was speaking on Monday at a… Read More »
Senegalese economist Sanou Mbaye on some of the problems French West African countries have been facing since independence: On the monetary front, the CFA Franc Zone’s member countries dismantled the federal structure that united them [French West Africa and French Central Africa] during French occupation and erected trade barriers instead. The CFA franc issued by… Read More »
The Economist interviews Dele Ogun, head of the Genesis Project, on the political situation in Nigeria.
From the BBC: A team of observers from Commonwealth countries has arrived in the UK to watch how the election is conducted and suggest how it could be improved. It will be the first time a Commonwealth team has observed elections in a developed country. They will observe candidates’ campaigns, polling stations and the count,… Read More »
BBC: The chairman of Nigeria’s governing party, Vincent Ogbulafor, has been charged with fraud. Mr Ogbulafor is accused of fraudulently awarding $1.5m (£1m) in federal funds when he was a government minister under President Olusegun Obasanjo. He denies the charges but if convicted, Mr Ogbulafor would have to resign. Correspondents say the case is being… Read More »
From a BusinessDay Nigeria column: [O]ur trade policy has remained very inconsistent many years after independence. Recent reforms – particularly the NEEDS – have however tried to considerably minimize the unpredictability of the trade policy regime by establishing a schedule to fully adopt the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) common external tariff (CET)… Read More »
Deborah Brautigam thinks so. And she should know, since she recently wrote a book on China in Africa, titled The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa. She said this in an interview with the Aid Watch blog: As a donor, China’s way has several advantages. Take the way they operate. They rarely “poach”… Read More »