In 1993, economic geographer Richard Auty coined the term “resource curse” to identify a paradox: nations with great natural resources often suffer underdevelopment compared with… Read More »DR Congo and the Resource Curse
My friend Jimmy Wales has a history of taking on impossible tasks. As he admits, the idea behind Wikipedia is pretty crazy, and despite the… Read More »Beyond Broadcast politics: the Dean Dream redux, or a new approach to politics?
So, I got an email Friday from Marketplace, the excellent business and finance show carried on WAMC, my local National Public Radio affiliate. According to… Read More »Public radio and reciprocity – I’ll help you if you help Hao Wu
Some of the most striking pieces of contemporary African art you’ll find are the colorful Zulu imbenge baskets that are woven from “recycled” telephone wire.… Read More »Why wired telephony in Africa is such a basket case
“Why are some nations poor and some nations rich?” This is the basic question development economists try to answer. It’s a question with profound practical… Read More »Book review: “Globalization and its Enemies”
The ongoing war in northern Uganda is one of the worst conflicts one rarely hears about. Jan Egeland, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, describes… Read More »Just how crazy is Joseph Kony?