Archive for category Poverty
Africa has to find its own road to prosperity (FT opinion)
Posted by sangus in Development, Growth, Poverty on 11 May, 2009
(Thanks to Ben Hirons) With respect of Dambisa Moyo’s thoughts on Dead Aid here is another President of an African nation, this time, Paul Kagame of Rwanda making a case for leading Africa out of poverty by innovation rather than systemic ‘plans’, or ’strategies’. As Kagame says, Rwanda faces enormous challenges, both geographically, politically, historically, and in terms of education and health, and yet, the optimism he displays is both courageous and determined.
Read his comments here:
FT.com / Comment / Opinion - Africa has to find its own road to prosperity.
Note: Kagame’s target of a four-fold increase in per-capita incomes in ‘a generation’ (or around 20 years), requires a GDP/cap growth rate of 7%. Considering that Rwanda has a projected population growth rate of just under 3%, this will require a GDP growth rate of 10%. And there, if ever, is the African challenge.
Dambisa Moyo discusses Dead Aid on Norwegian TV
Posted by sangus in Development, Poverty on 4 May, 2009
Once again, a video on Dambisa Moyo’s Dead Aid perspective. Significantly, here, she begins by outlining her ideas with the TV presenter, and then is able to debate them with a member of the Norwegian Parliament who clearly sees eye to eye with Moyo on some of her criticisms of foreign aid, but doesn’t appear willing to turn off the tap immediately.
Jakob Madsen on Models of Economic Growth
Jakob Madsen, Professor of Economics at Monash University has spent many years in Macro-economic research. He has a particular interest in long-run growth, the models that have been used to explain it, and the data that aims to test these models. In his recent work, he is examining so-called ’second-generation’ endogenous growth models, such as the Schumpeterian growth model. In this interview, Professor Madsen talks about some of his recent work on economic growth and how this bears on economic policy for development in the world’s poorest regions.
The IMF says 1.4% Contraction for Australia in 2009: Can we afford it?
It seems to me that the recent discussion and alarm about the world economic recession has somehow got itself unhinged from the basic importance of the matter. For instance, take this plot:
From the BBC’s report, ‘Deeper’ recession ahead says IMF’. The text around the figure goes like this:
Whilst this is all interesting stuff, it actually gives us only half the story on global economic activity. From this report, there is no way that you can determine what is happening on the ground in these countries, or for that matter, on the lovely planet called Earth.
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Zimbabwe - Left to Die - Foreign Correspondent - ABC
Watch online now
Read the transcript of Andrew Geoghegan’s undercover trip to Zimbabwe from ABC’s Foreign Correspondent, an excerpt is here:
Cholera is a preventable disease, yet there’s an epidemic raging in Zimbabwe. At least 4,000 are dead, and some 90,000 infected. Filming secretly and posing as tourists, reporter Andrew Geoghegan and producer Mary Ann Jolley uncover the true extent of the crisis. President Robert Mugabe denies there’s an epidemic, but in community after community, Foreign Correspondent finds dozens of victims and their families.
Many blame the government but it seems others may also share responsibility for the dire situation. We meet a former United Nations insider who is highly critical of the role the organisation’s Humanitarian Coordinator is playing in Zimbabwe. He says the lives of millions have been compromised because the UN’s highest humanitarian official in Zimbabwe is too close to the Mugabe regime.
Terrorism in Pakistan: is this a development issue?
Posted by sangus in Development, Podcast, Poverty on 24 March, 2009
The recent terrorist attacks in Pakistan against the Sri Lankan cricket team bring back awful memories of the Mumbai bombings, in which it now appears beyond doubt, Pakistani operatives were also at work. The key question, however, is are there reasons why Pakistan in particular, and other poor countries in general, seem to either be the source, or target, of terrorist activities?
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Is Aid Killing Africa? - Foreign Correspondent - ABC
Posted by sangus in Development, Interview, Poverty on 24 March, 2009
Watch online
This Foreign Correspondent report brings the work of Dambisa Moyo, a Zambian-born economist who thinks that western Aid is creating long-term dependencies on outside help, stifling internal economic activity and achieving very little of what the aid organisations set out to do.
Via: UK - Is Aid Killing Africa? - Foreign Correspondent - ABC.
Reporting on Closing the Gap - Should we Already Expect Progress?
Posted by sangus in Development, Health, Podcast, Poverty on 24 March, 2009
For those Australians who think that Development issues are something to do with Sub-Suharan Africa, think again. There is all the terrible and tragic action happening right on our doorstep.
The recent first report card speech delivered by the PM to parliament went for 40min and by some accounts and responses, didn’t deliver a great deal.
In my opinion though, we should give the PM a break, for now at least.
When you consider the situation, to think that substantial progress would have been made in 12 months on the ‘gaps’ in health and education between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians is fanciful. These are long-run statistics that capture generational change, not intra-generational progress.
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