Michela Wrong on writing books about Africa A book must be the biggest act of presumption it is possible to commit. If you’re a white westerner writing about Africa, that arrogance reaches dizzying levels. What gives a spoilt bourgeois, who didn’t even grow up there, the right to interpret the Read more…
I’ve never liked the name of the FT’s lifestyle section, “How To Spend It“. But with financial markets as they are now, it seems particularly ludicrous. How to spend what, exactly? Sitting in the airport lounge in Washington DC today, I was a bit surprised to find a “bonus issue” Read more…
Alanna Shaikh complains about the use and abuse of “sustainability” in development: I also hate this word because it so many things to so many different people. I am also uncomfortable about the notion of sustainability, but for slightly different reasons. There seems to be a consensus that development assistance Read more…
The UK Department for International Development has started a group blog. This is great news for those of us who believe that it has a good story to tell. DfID has a very good reputation abroad, but hardly anybody in the UK knows anything about it, or appreciates how much Read more…
I know a few people who would benefit from reading: David Pogue’s Tech Tips for the Basic Computer User. As usual, don’t neglect the comments which include some other top tips. Sadly, most of the people who would benefit from these tips don’t read blogs, so they won’t be reading Read more…
The Ibrahim Index of African Governance was published today. It ranks African governments in five dimensions (safety and security, rule of law & transparency, participation & human rights, sustainable economic opportunity, and human development) and then puts these together to arrive at an overall ranking. Mauritius comes top again this Read more…
The BBC sub-editor picked an angle, with the headline Prudence pays off in Ethiopia and the teaser: With the financial turmoil affecting many of the world’s economies, Elizabeth Blunt in Addis Ababa considers how Ethiopia and other parts of Africa may escape the worst of the credit crisis. But that Read more…
There has been a lot of discussion about the debate between the candidates for Vice President, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin, focusing on the lack of a train smash. But there was one important policy adjustment which has had very little attention. Joe Biden gave this answer: IFILL: … I Read more…
Growth Commission Blog We are launching the Commission on Growth and Development BLOG (The Growth Blog) today, while unprecedented changes in the financial markets are underway. These changes have the potential to reconfigure financial systems and manner not seen since the 1930s. I found the Growth Commission Report strangely disappointing. Read more…
The second episode of Development Drums is at http://developmentdrums.org. You can also subscribe on iTunes. Professor Adrian Wood and Peter daCosta joined me to discuss whether donors should cap aid to Africa; the power-sharing agreement in Zimbabwe; the Care International paper criticising wasted aid; and the new Doing Business survey. But is it too long?