South Africa’s government is embarking on a truly dangerous course. According to press reports, the state has now begun the process of expropriating of privately-owned farmland without financial compensation, thereby ignoring the post-apartheid political settlement, which allows for land redistribution in the country only on a “willing buyer, willing seller” basis. The owners of Akkerland Boerdery, […]
A group of 140 refugees from sub-Saharan Africa arrived in Europe on an early summer’s morning. The image in your head is probably of an overloaded boat crossing the Mediterranean. Except, this group of migrants landed at Rome Fiumicino – in populist Italy – with luggage and visas in hand, to be greeted by a […]
In recent months, African nations have been in the process of creating, signing and ratifying the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The agreement is one of the largest trade liberalisation efforts since the founding of the World Trade Organization in 1995. Last Sunday, at the 31st African Union (AU) Summit in Nouakchott, Mauritania; the total number of […]
In the West, we feel guilty about being prosperous, so we create companies to rid us of our negative sentiments. We call these firms “charities”, but in reality they’re businesses like any other. In the UK, a charity is classed as “a company limited by guarantee”, which means it can’t generate a profit, nor can […]
At a time when the world’s two largest economies are engaged in a destructive quest to limit trade between people, any evidence of the benefits impact of globalisation cannot come soon enough. Recently, we got just such an illustration in the form of the World Bank’s Findex report on global financial inclusion. The report is […]
Global education reform is having a zeitgeist moment. It’s prominence on the agendas of the G7; World Bank and World Economic Forum this year are a testament to that. The clamour about the failing state of education systems across the world and the impact poor education has on global peace and security only grows louder. […]
While President Trump has been preparing to rock the global trading system with aggressive moves to impose tariffs on Chinese imports, African leaders have been moving in a very different direction In February, under the auspices of the African Union (AU), 44 of the continent’s 55 nations took a high-profile step towards integration by backing […]
In turbulent times, there is something to be said for the solid virtues of continuity and reliability. So the week’s most pleasing “Dog Bites Man” headlines accompanied the revelation that a hereditary monarch remains in favour of the hereditary principle. What you see from Her Majesty the Queen is what you get. “It is my […]
In 1986, a well-known African-American economist travelled to South Africa for a conference on the role of business in helping to overcome racial divisions in that country. Three years later, Professor Walter E. Williams of George Mason University published a book titled South Africa’s War against Capitalism. Racial discrimination in the country, he wrote, was […]
Earlier this year, the Groningen Growth and Development Centre released a new edition of its Maddison Project Database, which provides information on global growth and income levels over the long run. The 2018 version of the data covers 169 countries up to the year 2016. Some information, dealing with parts of Europe and the Middle […]
Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, has announced an overhaul to the UK’s international aid budget. In an attempt to justify its growing budget, Mordaunt will argue that international aid should work to benefit the UK economy. Aid money will be used to help African companies raise debt in local currencies through the City of […]
The appointment of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States sparked a mutiny in anti-establishment politics worldwide. The victories of Emmanuel Macron and Italian populist party MS5 owe their victories to the new wave of populist politics reborn under Trump’s presidential campaign. Whether the rise of populist politics will have a profoundly […]
African leaders have just signed a framework establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, the largest free trade agreement since the creation of the World Trade Organisation. The free trade area aims to create a single market for goods and services in Africa. By 2030 the market size is expected to include 1.7 billion people […]
On February 27, the South African National Assembly set in motion a process to amend that country’s Constitution so as to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation. If implemented, the measure will destroy the political settlement that allowed for a peaceful transfer of power from the white minority to the black majority in […]
Cape Town could become the world’s first major city to run out of water – what’s been termed Day Zero. Sao Paulo faced similar difficulties in 2015 leading to significant social unrest. On Day Zero – which could be in mid-July if there’s no significant rain – residents of the city will have to travel […]
Fall armyworm infestations in large portions of southern and sub-Saharan Africa are threatening the food supply of over 200 million people. While indigenous to North and south America, in January 2016, the species was discovered for the first time in Nigeria. Since then the fall armyworm has spread to 28 African countries according to a […]
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