The link between poverty and terrorism is well-known. In theory, one of the purposes of organizations like USAID is to complement the other “D’s” of the foreign policy apparatus – diplomacy and defense – to improve conditions for people most likely to be driven to desperation: the poor. It is Read more…
When you want to know how someone in international development views the world, there is no surer way than asking them whether they identify with Jeffrey Sachs and Bill Easterly. On this blog, your correspondent has made his proclivities known on multiple occasions – even once being persecuted from doing Read more…
When I moved to Nairobi, I did not really know what to expect. I’d been here once before and moved on a whim. Fortunately, in the first week, I discovered the iHub. The iHub was started a few years ago by Eric Hersmann, the founder of Ushahidi, a crisis mapping Read more…
Human capital flight – otherwise known as “brain drain” – presents a challenge for developing countries. In countries with a lower per-capita GDP, wages are also typically lower. So highly-skilled labor immigrate to richer nations where their specialized talents yield a salary several times what they could earn in their Read more…
According to the global thought leaders in finance, Africa is primed for growth. McKinsey, the global management consultancy, released a report a few months ago titled “Lions on the Move” highlighting the collective buying power of the continent – $1.6 billion, or roughly equivalent to the GDP of Brazil or Read more…
