miztoritravers Victoria Travers

Blog #5, Week 6

by: Tori Travers

Banerjee and Duflo argue that microcredits beneficial to the poor because it is a way to give an opportunity for them to become entrepreneurs and smarter workers. The authors shared many stories, many of those involving women, which showcased times when these microcredits assisted to lift people out of poverty. I agree with the authors when they stated that “Moving the goalposts closer may be just what the poor need to start running toward them” (204). In other words, the authors argue that, if the poor are given the opportunity under the right circumstances and with the correct resources, they will most likely take advantage of the situation. As we have seen in their stories, the poor are often resourceful in their ways to make a living, so they do not lack ingenuity; they lack startup funds to become entrepreneurs.

Image result for microfinance institutions

On the other hand, the authors argue that we simply do not have enough information and statistics to know whether microcredits are effective. They also state that large MFIs (Micro Financial Institutions) have yet to have a “powerful argument in their defense” and produce reports to the public (Banerjee and Duflo, 169). The authors also state that sometimes, these MFIs do not have the borrowers’ best interest at heart, and those borrowers are not well informed of the terms of repayment of their loans (170). In addition, these MFIs have a sign-up rate and are very selective in choosing their borrowers (219). I agree with the authors in that these large MFI are flawed often because they are tied to larger banks that are not willing to support small business owners in the long run.

Microcredit has had a significant presence in Nigeria for several decades.  Global Corporations, as well as smaller entities, have entered the country with hopes of eradicating global poverty through the progression of local business ventures.

For example, Shell’s website explains “Micro Credit is a key component of our economic empowerment program. Implemented in the Niger Delta since 1998, its main purpose is to establish new micro and small businesses and expand existing ones in the communities.”  Through this initiative, over 30,000 people have been able to establish or expand their businesses.  This included over 2,700 young people and women in 2009.

While it’s true that some initiatives and projects have seen great success, there is some criticism for the concept as Poor Economics explained, especially in the realm of digital technology.  Continuous digital investments and advancements around the world have brought more jobs, more money, and more growth to countless nations, providing “choice, convenience, access, and opportunity” to impoverished communities worldwide.  As the Conservation article explains, digital technology/connectivity and micro-credit success of business ventures often can tie hand in hand, offering people in poor communities more resources and more opportunities to grow their business to success.  While poor people around the world are increasingly gaining connectivity and access to these resources, many more are falling behind as they lack this opportunity due to the availability of digital technology.  The realization of such a reality drives the World Banks championing of connectivity and the general consensus that an investment in technology is just as essential as other resources in the developing world.

Anna Herman Uncategorized

Blog Post 5: Micro-credits, Angola and Digital Technology

By: Anna Herman

In Poor Economics, Banerjee and Duflo, make several arguments both for and against micro-credits. Micro-credits are defined as financial services that are targeted for low-income people. They provide these people credit, savings, insurance, and money transfers.

Banerjee and Duflo support using micro-credits and the positive results when they are used correctly. These are virtually extremely small loans, and the authors argue that they give the people who receive them the framework for managing financials. This includes basic habits, such as spending and saving money correctly. By having people understand these fundamental skills to successfully manage their financials over time, it could potentially lead to a debt-free future on a micro level. Moreover, Banerjee and Duflo also seem to understand the idea for human need. Since these individuals are extremely poor, even small loans could improve the quality of life greatly for them.

However, Banerjee and Duflo recognize that no matter how beneficial they may be individually, they will certainly not eradicate poverty. The authors state that these micro-credits are certainly not the solution to large poverty issues. Consequently, they make several arguments against using micro-credits. Although these loans have the potential to be positive tools to manage money properly, there is going to be people who receive the money and spend it immediately, Since these poor people have never had money, they could be and probably will be impatient. This point could be an negative consequence of using micro-credits. Furthermore, poor people may not see the point of saving and would rather use these loans for everyday needs. This completely eliminates the possibility of micro-credits creating a positive future and ultimately difference on the macro level. Since these loans are small, they very well might not be nearly enough for an individual to start a small business. Without having enough right away, it poses the question of how likely do you think poor people will be inclined to save more and if so, how will they raise the rest of the funds?

Although it is a complex issue, Angola does use micro-credits. Since most of the economy relies natural resources (petroleum and diamond) to create profit, initially you would think citizens the ideal contenders for micro-credits. This is because micro-credits are heavily aimed at allowing small business owners to create a business and if there is not a lot of business opportunities other than oil and diamonds, what is the point? However, I have discussed in previous blog posts how a majority of the population lives in areas where they depend heavily on agriculture and fishing. In the Southern African Development Community documents, the authors discuss how the banks have provided micro-credits to those in the agriculture and fishing sectors. Although these areas are not the main source of income for the country, by providing micro-credits to smaller sectors of the market it allows for expansion. I agree with the limits on who they are providing them to, because if it is not regulated about who it is being given to, individuals could take advantage of the loans and put themselves in a worse economic state.

Banco Sol is one of the banks that gives out micro-credits in Angola. Over 500 families alone benefit from this bank’s small loan service.

These micro-credits have not only given farmers and fishermen tools to improve their business, they have allowed them the opportunity to export these products. This was simply not feasible before these loans were available. Since Angola deeply relies on exports for their income, it will be interesting to see what area of the market the economy is more profitable in the next few years.

However, the Brookings Article largely critiques Angola, as it labels it a severely off-track country. Geoffrey Gertz and Homi Kharas discuss that the SOTC are defined by the country’s ability to ensure that its population can escape extreme poverty over the medium term. I agree with the authors that maybe not within the next term Angola will be able to do this, but I believe with the progress it has made since escaping the Civil War, there is a lot more to improvements that we will see in the economy.

Digital technology is making a difference in poor countries, but it is limited. According to Technology In Organization, digital technology includes all types of electronic equipment and applications that use the information in the form of numeric code . Therefore, digital technology includes the creation and use of computerized devices.  Some Africans now have access to these devices such as phones, which results in them being connected to the rest of the world through social media. The Guardian article, discusses African citizens who use digital technology, and one of the most important points is that social media allows them to expand their businesses. However, I think the distribution of technology in Africa is the problematic part. If everyone or a majority of individuals in your area do not have it, then what is the point of it?

Children at school playing on a table. This is one way digital technology is reinventing parts of Africa.

I agree with Nick Dearden’s article that we hear the stereotypes and reinforce assumptions that Africa is poor, but we are the ones limiting them by the western governments forcing African government to open up their markets to unfair competition. However, I do think the corruption in leadership in African countries has also limited Africa, and that is not necessarily anyone’s fault. Africa has several natural resources that can be exported, and if we help Africa export them efficiently, it could be extremely beneficial to the state of their economy.

Additional Sources

“Chapter 8 and 9” Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty and the Ways to End It, by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Random House India, 2013, pp. 183-234.

rachelbrunts Rachel Brunts

Blog Post #4

        By Rachel Brunts        

Part I:

  1. Find a ‘cheetah’ in your assigned country (person or organization) and show his/her/its work that helps the country move towards protection of human rights, free speech, systems of accountability, reducing poverty, etc.

Beginning in the early 1990s to present day, the Ntsiloulou rebel group, or the Ninjas, have been fighting back their political/military leader, Denis Sassou Nguesso, led by their respected leader, Frédéric Bintsamou, or Pastor Ntumi.

  IRINN article, ‘Congo-Brazzaville’s hidden war’, comments on the level of Ninja knowledge stating, “Very little is known about how they are structured and operate, and how much real control Ntumi exerts at the local level. Bereft of information, the international community has termed them, “armed elements”. To the government, they are simply “terrorists”.

The Ninjas have been fighting back their government mostly by resisting government policy, refusing to participate in pre-rigged elections, and rallying community to peacefully challenge their government officials.

After many years of back and forth conflict in December of 2017, BBC News stated, “The government and the rebel group known as the Ninjas sign a ceasefire deal.” Allowing for a more peaceful environment for trading and overall life.

  • Chapter 3 of Radelet’s Emerging Africa talks extensively about democracy building as well as discusses how one defines democracy, what is elemental and how are democracies ranked and judged. How does your country rank? Explore the following sites and answer the questions

Chapter 3 of Radelet’s Emerging Africa, explains that Radelet believes there is no universally accepted definition of democracy but defines democracies as any country that meets the Freedom House and Polity IV standards. Also, he ranks and judges each democracy by their Freedom House civil liberty score (scale 1 to 7, 1 is the best), political rights score, and average Polity IV score (scale -10 to 10, 10 is the best) Pg. 62.

According to the Think Tank Freedom House, the Republic of Congo’s 2017 freedom statue is as labeled, “not free”, ranking #27 in world freedom, on a scale of 100 being most free.  More specifically, the Congo’s freedom in the world as, “Freedom Rating 6/7, Political Rights 7/7, Civil Liberties 5/7,” 1= most free and 7= least free.

  1. What are the dangers that global democracies are facing?

After reading The Washington Post article, I’ve learned that the dangers global democracies are facing are not only occurring in sub-Saharan Africa but right here at home in the United States. As the article says, “the retreat of the United States from global leadership, coupled with the Trump administration’s weak and ambiguous commitment to democratic values at home, raises serious concerns about the near future. As democracy is undermined, the world inevitably becomes a more dangerous place.”

  • Is YALI active in your country?

Positively, YALI is active in the Republic of the Congo! A YALI member, Jean Ndongui, founded LEB CONGO, described as, “a nonprofit organization that works to “break the cycle of unemployment among young people in the Republic of the Congo by training them in leadership, entrepreneurship, and business and funding youth projects.”

  • What are current news in your country?

The most recent news I found in an AllAfrica article was a soccer game on February 19th of this year. The Republic of the Congo played a game between Zimbabwe, fighting to make the finals. The article discusses how their star player, Mario Balotelli, is most likely going to miss out on the finals due to a serious injury. While this most recent news story may not be that politically meaningful or a life-changing fact, but I am happy I found this news. This story reminds me that the Republic of the Congo is not just a poverty-stricken dictatorship, but the country just like any other. Given, their freedom may not be equal as my own; they still continue their lives in the same manner as the rest of the world, and I believe this article has provided me with a better understanding of my prior perception of the Congo.

Part II:  

  1. What are the major obstacles in raising developing countries out of poverty?

In Poor Economics by Banerjee & Duflo Ch. 6, the major obstacles in raising developing countries out of poverty is, The African ICT Explosion, fueling entrepreneurship and commerce, expanding access to finance, and strengthening health services, democracy, and governance. Thankfully to help within all of these categories this book describes how mobile phones and the internet have transcended poverty-stricken countries toward a better tomorrow. Quoting pg. 122, “These technologies are helping everyday Africans overcome some of the daunting constraints that have inhibited economic growth and poverty reduction in the past, including geographic isolation, weak infrastructure, poor information, and inefficient markets.”

Anna Herman Uncategorized

Blog Post 4: Analyzing Angola, Democracy, and Health Care Investments

By: Anna Herman

Can you imagine becoming the leader of a country and still not having enough control to start taking steps to make a change? In the Council on Foreign Relations article, it discusses how Angola’s newest leader, President João Lourenço, did not assume control of the ruling party, MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) until a year after he was elected. But he is already emerging as a “cheetah” due to his plans to implement systems of accountability and reduce poverty. We read last week about how Radelet explains that ‘cheetahs’ are trying to redefine Africa. Ever since running for office, President João Lourenço has led an anti-corruption campaign, aimed for economic reforms in the oil industry, and expected to further utilize other natural resources that have been ignored for years.

President João Lourenço pictured in Germany, as he attempts to implement foreign investments.

The All Africa article explains how Lourenço has taken more steps to see change. He has effectively removed traces of the previous president, José Eduardo dos Santos, in his cabinet. This includes his children from their positions at the sovereign-wealth fund and Sonangol. Furthermore, it discusses how he has continued to administer accountability, since he has made arrests to high-ranking officials that were connected to dos Santos and heavily involved in his corrupt administration that lasted 38 years. The former president’s son, José Filomen dos Santos, was included among the series of arrests made since 2017.

The Africa Report explains how President Lourenço is focused on improving the economy and consequently reducing poverty. He is making strides to do this by meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that predicts Angola’s GDP growing 2.2 percent this year and even more the following year. With the help of IMF, Lourenço is hoping to increase transparency in the government with the reformed agenda. Finally, the cheetah is looking to relaunch fishing and agriculture markets and by using those resources to open the country to foreign investment. The previous administration was strongly against this idea and only wanted private investors. However, Lourenço believes this will help distribute income to those who have been deprived due to the events in the past like the Civil War. Although this is progress for the country, Angola still has a significantly long way to go.

In Emerging Africa – How 17 Countries Are Leading the Way, Radelet explains how both strong political and economic controls allowed leaders to be in control for long periods of time, even decades. This is precisely what happened with Angola and President dos Santos. The Encyclopedia Britannica article discusses that after Angola gained its independence from Portugal, dos Santos held power from 1979 to 2017. As a result, there was little opportunity for change, let alone spreading democracy. Democracy is defined by “protecting fundamental political freedoms and civil liberties, or in establishing key institutions such as free and fair elections, representative government, and check on constitutional power”, according to Radelet. This chapter argues that the variety of elements that make up this definition are all imperative to construct a democracy. By having these factors, it allows individuals to easily analyze and compare the levels of democracy in the different countries in Africa.

In Chapter 3 of Poor Economics, the authors discuss a variety of effective health investments. The idea behind these investments is to improve health and as a result people’s lives. The authors discuss cheap and easy preventative healthcare measures. They refer to them as low hanging fruit. They include bed nets in countries where a large fraction of the population is exposed to Malaria. This includes countries like Zambia, where over 50 percent of the population is exposed to this disease. However, there are critics that are skeptical of the idea that these infested countries have such high poverty rates due to Malaria. The chapter touches on Sachs idea that maybe they have not been successful in eradicating Malaria due to poor governing rather than innovation.

However, numerous studies have been performed analyzing successful campaigns to eradicate Malaria. Researchers did find that life outcomes of children born after the campaign catch up with children born where there are low incidences of Malaria. This suggest that there is a reduction in long-term poverty due to bed nets.

A young girl in Africa sits on her bed that is covered by a net.

Another example of an effective health investment that the authors discuss is clean water and sanitation. In 2008, UNICEF and WHO estimated that 13 percent of the world’s population lacked access to improved water sources and one fourth of that did not have any water at all that was safe to drink. By having the opportunity to have piped water and basic sanitation needs that we take for granted such as a toilet, it allows both children and adults to lead healthier and more productive lives. Although this is a more expensive option, it is an option that was not available before.

Obviously, increasing healthcare is the backbone of these investments, and the authors suggest cheaper ways to avert health issues. To get rid of diarrhea, they recommend adding chlorine to water. Other suggestions include deworming drugs, immunization, exclusive-breastfeeding for six months, and more. By just having the existence of these technologies it can save lives that used to be taken from these everyday. Hopefully by addressing these social issues, it can ultimately implement a cultural change.

More Sources

“Chapter 3, 4, and 6” Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty and the Ways to End It, by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Random House India, 2013, pp. 1–40.

Radelet, Steven. Emerging Africa- How 17 Countries are Leading the Way. Foreword. Chapter 3.

miztoritravers Victoria Travers

Post #4, Week 5

By: Tori Travers

Part 1:

a) According to the International Monetary fund, my country Nigeria is the wealthiest country in Africa. This was looked at primarily with GDP in mind. Nigeria is an oil-rich country and has many exports of this as well as other natural recourses like cocoa and rubber. Itnewsafrica.com also stated that Nigeria is Africa’s most populated country.

This makes it easy to find cheetahs around my country. A cheetah is someone in the new generation of Africa who has fresh progressive ideas that they are determined to move forward. In 2014, a group of young people in Nigeria began campaigning to #bringbackourgirls. In Nigeria more than 250 schoolgirls were abducted from their dormitories in 2014. One Nigerian activist stood up to begin the campaign #bringbackourgirls. Her name is Oby Ezekwesili.

Ezekwesili’s campaigning led to a large march in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, which caught national attention. After many months of campaigning, the Nigerian government made movements to try and better the human rights, safety and accountability of Nigerians.

https://static.independent.co.uk/s3fs-public/thumbnails/image/2014/05/08/14/bring-back-our-girls.jpg?w660

The Global Business Coalition for Education – along with Nigerian business leaders, donors, and government – made the Safe Schools Initiative in 2014 following the activism of Ezekwesili. The initiative has led to over 2,000 children being relocated and many upgrades to schools around Nigeria, although a large number of schoolchildren again were abducted in early 2018. The group who did the most recent abduction was called Boko Haram, loosely translated as Western Education is Dead.

b) In Emerging Africa, Radelet argues that one cannot easily define what a democracy is. He says that although competitive elections constitute a democracy, elections alone do not announce a democracy. Civil rights, protections, freedom, control of government and checks and balances all compile into what may be seen as a democracy. According to Emerging Africa, “The death of Nigeria’s brutal dictator Sani Abacha in June 1998 led to the election of Olusegun Obasanjo the following year and launched Nigeria’s fragile and incomplete move toward democracy. Radelet states that in the last 20 years, 50% of Africa’s countries are now under a democratic rule. He credits this to many things, including a straying away from indefinite power of leaders.

emerging-africa-ch3Download

Young African Leaders Initiative is active in Nigeria, challenging Nigerians to vote and stay checking power. YALI advocates for transparency between citizens and their government.

Some current news in Africa is about their recent elections. Just hours before the election voting was supposed to begin, the Independent National Electoral Commission shockingly postponed the balloting, pushing back the voting dates to February 23 and March 9. There was no one clear explanation as to why the government voting was postponed, and this has led to some distrust in the Nigerian people. Many voters were angry after traveling far for the chance to vote and preparing for the original dates. According to allafrica.com, many organizations are in frustration. “The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, a network of over 70 organizations supporting credible, transparent elections in the country, expressed disappointment, especially “against the background of assurances given by INEC on its preparedness” for the polls,” one article stated.

Part 2:

a) Developing countries face many problems, causing the movement out of poverty to be a tough one. The book Poor Economics states that the majority of the poor run on small businesses or farms. Since most impoverished people depend on farming, many struggle when factors like climate interfere. The book says, “Most of the land farmed by the poor is not irrigated. This makes farm earnings highly dependent on the weather.”  According to Poor Economics, the other majority of employment in poor countries comes from something called casual labor. This is someone who only receives employment for a few days to a few weeks. This leads families with little to no security and dependability on income.

rachelbrunts Rachel Brunts

Blog #3 Emerging Africa and Rep. of Congo

By: Rachel Brunts

Part I: Questions on Emerging Africa

a)         As explained in Ch. 7 of Emerging Africa, the meaning of a “Cheetah” or the cheetah generation, is a new generation of leaders and entrepreneurs rising, in the early 2000s, to government bureaucracies, civil society, organizations, and businesses. Author Steven Radelet, described this generation as, “Africa’s new generation, a nebulous yet palpable group across the continent that is seeking to redefine Africa through democracy, transparency, and a dynamic private sector, and by fostering strong connections with each other and with the rest of the world.” (126)

            Concerning the meaning of a “Big Man” or the hippo generation, were essentially a single man dictatorship in the mid-1980s. Radelet explained in Ch. 2 that, “Governance was dominated by strong-man presidents who faced few constraints on power–other than the threat of violent overthrow – and who could easily ignore inconvenient constitutional restrictions and laws with impunity.” (pg. 50)

            The hippo generation and the cheetah generation definitely refer to a different way of looking at democracy and civil society. Cheetah’s people valued and fought for their right to democracy within their government leaders; while the Hippo’s people wanted democracy, but they were suppressed by the power of one individual leader. As far as civil society, the cheetah generation had a fairly similar interest in creating a new Africa by demanding their civil rights. I believe the civil society of the hippo generation always wanted to live in a country with democracy. Although, since the government was so powerful, they were not able to achieve their rightful freedom until their government was either overthrown violently or in some cases bankrupted out of power.

b)         Reiterating Radelet’s positive view in Chapter 6 on the African ICT, he states, “Today thanks to the rapid expansion of mobile phones, Internet connections, and other forms of information and communications technology, the opportunities for technology to help lift people out of poverty and change the economic fortune of Africa have never been greater.”(pg. 110) A journal article by the International Journal of Business, Humanities and Technology on

  The Impact of Internet on African Education and Culture finds that there are both positive and negative effects the internet processes in terms of education and social networking:

“It is true that the Internet has moved the continent forward by improving it businesses, educational and cultural sections; nevertheless, the halting effects have proven to be detrimental to the region’s educational and cultural aspects. If the region decides to stick to its old norms, then it will lose the benefits that the Internet age has brought.” (76)

I agree with Radelet that information and communication technologies have helped African countries grow stronger. However, at the end of the day, a poverty strikin’ country is no different than any other country; such as the United States. We are all subject to the negative and positive effects technology inevitably brings to any nation. To prove our nations similarities, the journal provided a potential solution to technology in Africa stating, “Adequate awareness about the Internet is crucial. People must be made to understand that the Internet can be a very enlightening platform, fun to surf, as well as damaging to character if inappropriately utilized.” (76)

Part II: explore one country as assigned in class

a) Yes, it is possible to get trapped in poverty. The Economic Times defines poverty traps as, “a spiraling mechanism which forces people to remain poor. It is so binding in itself that it doesn’t allow the poor people to escape it.” As described in Banerjee & Duflo’s Chapter 1, “There will be a poverty trap whenever the scope for growing income or wealth at a very fast rate is limited for those who have too little to invest but expands dramatically for those who can invest a bit more.” (pg.11) Found within the Republic of Congo Poverty Assessment Report, poverty traps in the Republic of Congo are present in all areas including geographic region, education, occupation, and household size

b)   Republic of Congo progress of SDG #1

In 2004 50.4% of the population was living below the national poverty line. As of 2011, that percentage dropped just shy of 4% at 46.5%. Personally, I do not see that as much progress toward ending poverty in all its forms.

Trading Economics data on Republic of the Congo GDP per capita PPP was used to source the following paragraph.

While the Rep. of Congo’s crude oil production increased from 347 to 307 BBL/D/1K in July of 2018 they scored 19 points out of 100 on the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 165th least corrupt nation of 175 countries. Also, their GDP is at -42.80%.

c) Is Human capital an issue in your country?

As defined on the Economic Help blog, “Human Capital is a measure of the skills, education, capacity, and attributes of labor which influence their productive capacity and earning potential.” Human capital is, unfortunately, an issue in the Republic of Congo. Thankfully, The World Bank stated, the “National Development Plan (2018 to 2022) lays out its intention for a change of focus to improving governance; building human capital, and diversifying the economy.”

miztoritravers Victoria Travers

Blog #3, Africa and Nigeria Examinations

Radelet argues in the book “Emerging Africa” that across Africa, a new generation of leaders are emerging, making it to the top of important positions such as government bodies, businesses, schools, and organizations. They have been given many labels including “the Cheetah generation.” Radelet states that the new generation does not stick to one social construct. Each “cheetah” is unique and diverse, adding to the strong connections being fostered with the rest of the world. What sets the cheetah generation apart from the rest is their drive to get an idea moving forward. In Emerging Africa we get a quote from Ayittey speaking about the cheetahs. She stated, “They do not relate to the old colonialist paradigm, the slave trade, nor Africa’s post-colonialist nationalist leaders.” Cheetahs can be found all over Africa, but specifically in emerging countries. Many start here as entrepreneurs, creating jobs and new opportunities for investment. In contrast, many surrounding people in Africa seem to be staying with the old ways of things and Radelet calls this generation the “hippo” generation. These people stick to the ideas of fighting against colonialism and imperialism.

In the book “Emerging Africa”, Radelet gives a lot of explanation as to how the explosion of mobile phones, internet connections, and information and communication technology effected and continues to effect Africa. The expansion of ICT can allow more people access to more job opportunities, extend business and social networks, and increase accountability. Radelet explains that in poor areas of Africa where transportation may be difficult, mobile phones open up a new wave of communication, letting people know important things like the weather and differing prices of goods and services. Radelet’s positive view makes sense, since he states, “Africa has become the fastest-growing mobile market in the world.” The explosion of ICT is probably sustainable since two more fiber optic cables will be added to the SAT-3 cable already boosting internet access in Africa off the West coast. These new cables should be said to reduce costs as well. The challenges to this sparkly, exciting change in Africa is that we do not have any idea how this really will affect the continent in the future. Yes, technological changes have transformed different areas of the world, think the transcontinental railroad in the U.S., but the United States was not the most impoverished country at the start of the change. Even Radelet writes, “They will not overcome all problems, lift everyone out of poverty, or change autocratic governments into liberal democracies,” accepting that ICT will not change everything at once for the better.

It is very possible to get trapped in poverty according to Banerjee and Duflo’s book Poor Economics. Economists call countries stuck in poverty due to the extreme climate, infertility, being landlocked and even often malaria infested (Poor Economics). Nigeria is known for having extreme droughts, and climate change is worsening their chances of combating poverty in many ways. Farmers are unable to farm and livestock is affected. When it comes to infertility, Nigeria has trouble keeping health risks away due to a lack of affordable healthcare. Nigerian Gynecologist Kingsley Angholor wrote, “For example, tubal disease, which is the most common cause of infertility in Nigeria, is best treated with in-vitro fertilization (IVF), and one cycle of IVF in Nigeria costs an average of 3,289 USD.” Healthcare bleeds into the next reason countries get locked in poverty too: malaria. Malaria kills more people in Nigeria than in any other country in the world according to the United States Embassy in Nigeria.

In my country Nigeria, climate change has halted many sustainable development goals. Agriculture productivity is decreasing due to different things depending on the location in Nigeria including droughts, extreme heat, and natural disasters. According to the Punch Newspaper, the Federal government established the office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, a House Committee, and Senate Committee to work on implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in Nigeria. Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire has worked to get different initiatives moving forward to combat Nigeria’s poverty trap and reach the sustainable goals like The Safe Birth Initiative. This initiative gave $10.8m to help try and strengthen hospitals.

Image result for nigeria the safe birth initiative
http://Coca-Cola Sponsors Launch Of Safe-Birth Initiative – YouTube

Nigeria’s population has been growing, but the country has done little to improve its human capital. According to Leadership Newspaper Nigeria, “The country spent less than one percent of its GDP on health.” UNESCO said in 2014 that Nigeria ranked the number last in education, therefore human capital is a problem in Nigeria.

By: Tori Travers

Anna Herman Anna Herman

Blog Post 3: What has changed in Africa?

By: Anna Herman

What is the easiest way to communicate with someone who does not live close? What probably came to your mind was to pick up your phone and make a call. But, what if that was not an option? Up until recently, that was a reality in Africa. In Emerging Africa: How 17 Countries Are Leading the Way, Steven Radelet discusses how the lack of means to communicate hindered Africa’s progress. However, the recent technological advancements have been a game changer. It is amazing how these innovations fuel entrepreneurship and subsequently financial security for families.

The meaning of “Cheetah” that Radelet refers to Africa’s next generation of leaders that are “quietly and quickly to move into Africa’s government bureaucracies, civil society organizations, and business” and will be guiding the future of the countries that are a part of the continent. This group does not appear a certain way, as the individuals are not defined by gender, education, or location. They can be labeled as individuals who want to see change and they are calling for transparency, good governance, respect for human rights, and accountability.

The “Big Man” or “hippo generation” is a term that refers to the old, slow moving generation that complains about colonialism and imperialism. Radelet explains that these undesirable characteristics were extremely prominent in the first group of postcolonial presidents and prime ministers that rose to power from leadership positions and were only capable of fighting the colonial government rather than legislating. Ultimately, they were incapable of making a change in democracy.

Radelet’s positive view in Chapter 6 on the African information and communications (ICT) explosion is not completely valid and sustainable. This is because he contributes ICT as being a miracle in disseminating information on diseases that have been notorious in Africa, such as HIV/AIDS. Does the African ICT effectively reach and educate people? Probably more than before, but he noticeably dismisses that HIV/AIDS has been around for decades. Therefore, individuals living in areas heavily impacted for such a long period of time probably have some knowledge of the diseases. Even getting reminders about appointments is helpful, but I do not think the African ICT is the difference between life and death that Radelet’s context suggest that it is.

Similarly, in the way that Radelet discusses the medical advances offered by African ICT, I do not believe that the African ICT is the key piece of strengthening democracy. Earlier in class, we read about how the rising democracy is the framework of Africa’s advancements. But, attributing African ICT as such a prominent factor to the assembly of their government is simply unrealistic. SMS text messages are incapable of changing the structure of a government, especially if might not always have reliable information. Overall, I have no doubt that the African ICT explosion has helped the population with progressing, but it is certainly not the end all, be all for the obstacles the countries have overcome.

The African ICT has allowed many individuals to receive SMS text messages.

Banarjee and Duflo’s chapter in Poor Economics explains that it is extremely possible to get trapped in poverty. The book refers to “poverty traps” or countries that face extreme poverty due to their environment that often has undesirable conditions and diseases. Furthermore, the text explains how they struggle geographically, as they are often landlocked.

My assigned country, Angola, is bordering the South Atlantic Ocean and sits between Namibia and Democratic Republic of Congo. It is a coastline country, and it has two seasons: a rainfall and drought season, according to The World Factbook. The heavy rainfall has cause periodic flooding on the plateau. Almost half of the land is forest and cannot be used for agricultural. Furthermore, the country had been involved in a Civil War from 1975-2002 that has significantly slowed down its potential for progress.

Soldiers sit in Angola ready with their weapons. For years, the country went through periods of intense fighting.

Since the Civil War the country has utilized its oil production for economic growth and lowered child mortality. According to Trading Economics, the country is the seventh highest GDP at PPP among African countries. Moreover, according to UNICEF reported in their recent data collection that the child mortality rate is now at a low of 8.1 percent.

Although the country is making progress since the Civil War, SDG #1 is the least achieved of the goals for Angola. It is ranked 147 out of 186 on the poverty scale, despite the petroleum resources. The poverty is primarily in rural areas. The United Nations Development Program reported that 59 percent of the working population lives in poverty and the adult mortality rate hovers at a whopping 24 percent.

All Africa sheds light on the fact that human capital is a problem in Angola, but the country is aware of the problem and working to fix it. In the article, it discusses how the country has invested significant amounts in an effort to increase human capital. This is expected to increase productivity in companies and allow for innovation. By doing so, it will allow the economy to further expand and hopefully contribute to better economic distribution.

Although Angola obviously has plenty to work on with the SDGs, it has overcome hurdles since gaining its independence from Portugal in 1975. Additionally, it can now can effectively use its resources to attain their goals. The World Folio explains that at the time of it struggling for its independence, 85 percent of the population was illiterate and the economic sector was nonexistent. This perspective displays the headway Angola has made, but again, the country needs to see more progression in the near future.

Additional Sources

“Chapter 1 and 2.” Poor Economics: Rethinking Poverty and the Ways to End It, by Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Duflo, Random House India, 2013, pp. 1–40.

Radelet, Steven. Emerging Africa- How 17 Countries are Leading the Way. Foreword. Chapter 6. Chapter 7.

rachelbrunts Rachel Brunts, Uncategorized

Blog #2

By Rachel Brunts

A.

            Good news can be classified in many ways. Especially when emphasizing the factors that generate good news the answer becomes more challenging and possibly arguable. I believe Steven Radelet in Emerging Africa – How 17 Countries are Leading the Way describes Africa’s past historical events (good and bad) as the factors leading to good news in Africa. More specifically, the factors of the economic crisis, political protests, and government reform to democracy. While not all of these events are positive factors in Africa, they all can be classified as good news in Africa.

            For example, Radelet’s Chapter 2, he explains the detailed snowball effect starting during the austerity of Africa’s government and the economic crisis. Creating a peak in political protests in 1991; which pushed a government response in 1992 reforming civil liberties. Thereafter, leading to competitive political elections and African governments soon began to allow greater political rights. All in all, resulting in democracy.

            I believe these factors to be the turning point for positive growth in Africa. It a little funny to state that I would classify the complete and udder downfall of the African society would be such good news, but I believe it. Since the austerity government had nothing due to bankruptcy, they had no power over the people. Radelet quotes, “Authoritarian governments appear to have fallen not because they face more unrest but because they were unable to respond to it”. This lack of democratized power allowed counties to make their own choices and if ran responsibly, let their people live freely.

B.

Millennium Villages Project describes that “The Millennium Villages are proving that by fighting poverty at the village level through community-led development, rural Africa can achieve the Millennium Development Goals.” Also, the project suggests, “Simple solutions like providing high-yield seeds, fertilizers, medicines, drinking wells, and materials to build school rooms and clinics are effectively combating extreme poverty and nourishing communities into a new age of health and opportunity”. The article also states that the Millennium Villages support 14 sites within 10 countries for 500,000 people.  

            Supporting the Millennium Village Project, Jeffrey Sachs stated in The Age of Sustainable Development, “Eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge facing the world today and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development”. (pg.483)

            In retrospective, a Foreign Affairs article reviews Sachs book stating, “It addresses the complicated challenge of assuring a continued rise in prosperity, particularly in the remaining poor parts of the world, while avoiding roadblocks such as the depletion of fresh water, extensive air and water pollution, the loss of biodiversity, and excessive climate change.” Overall, defining his writing as a logical yet simple examination of poverty centering the greatest global challenge.

Millennium Villages

Each individual link correlates to the source used for the given information that follows

  1. Why was that particular village chosen?

Tanzania: MV of Mbola and a new site AngloGold Ashanti (AGA); I picked this village because it has multiple MVP sites and I wanted to compare it to a single existing site.

Uganda: MV of Ruhiira; I picked this village because it is an existing MVP site and think it would be interesting to compare two divers villages.

2. What is the goal for that village?

Tanzania: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, Achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and empower women, lower child mortality, improve maternal health, combat diseases, environmental stability, global development

Uganda: The village is doing well so the goal would be to continue to improve areas they are weaker in. I believe the goal would be to plant more trees on land to help with the firewood shortage. Which should also help lower population density and growth rates,   

3. What successes or failures have been recorded?

Tanzania: Successes: Businesses growing, health care centers improving, solar energy and water improvements, school attendance, students surplus, and academic performance increasing. Also, tree nurseries were planted in school to educate students on deforestation.

Failures: overgrazing and agriculture expansion decreasing land production, lack of health and education guidelines, access to antiretrovirals have decreased.   

Uganda: Successes: Number of children eating at school has increased dramatically, they were the first site to launch School 2 school program, malaria health conditions are nearly gone, and MVP has improved their water resources.  

4. What do the critics say?

Tanzania:

Uganda:

5. Look at the countries’ GDP, GNP, WDI, HDI, etc. to evaluate each village.

Tanzania: GDP:$163bil GNP: $51bil Gini: 37.8(medium) HDI: 0.531 (low,151st)  Pop: 55,572,201 Area: 55,572,201Water 6.4%

Uganda: GDP: $88bil GNP: $26bil Gini: 41.01 (medium) HDI: 0.493 (low 163rd) Po:p 41,487,965 Area: 241,038km Water: 51.39%

6. How are local, national and global issues addressed and involved?

Tanzania: They have a presidential republic. Consisting of a President, Vice President, Prime Minister, Speaker, and Chief Justice, who all address their local, national and global issues cohesively depending on their specific duties.

Uganda: They also have a presidential republic. Consisting of a President, Vice President, and Prime Minister.

7. I think Tanzania and Uganda are both conducting viable projects toward ending poverty. I have always pondered the question on how to end global poverty, but quite honestly thought it was impossible. Educating myself on the Millennium Villages Project and Millennium Development Goals has provided me with an optimistic view, agreeing with Steven Radelet, and more specifically with the future fate of TanzaniaandUganda.

miztoritravers Victoria Travers

Blog 2

  1. Radelet believes that the good news about Africa is that many of its countries are not alone in breaking away from the history of economic and political despair, as he states in Emerging Africa. For a long time, Africa has been limited to a similar story of the continents dark past. On MillenniumVillages.org it states, “Africa has the greatest proportion of people living in extreme poverty.” Radelet argues that countries like Ghana, Mozambique, Mali, Tanzania, and Cape Verde are changing the narrative by having these things that he calls good news: more trustworthy governments, increasing incomes, improving investment, healthcare and education opportunities among other things. The Millennium Villages Project is trying to help.
  2. The Millennium Villages are villages in Africa aimed at fighting poverty from a small, community-led scale. I chose the two villages Tiby, Mali and Koraro, Ethiopia. I decided to look closer into these two villages for many reasons. Both Tiby and Koraro are found in countries which are existing Millennium Villages. They have a similar population number and schools in their respective areas. Tiby, Mali has a population of about 75,000 people, while Koraro, Ethiopia has a population of about 68,000 people. A big difference in these villages is the number of health recourses around. In Koraro there are 14 health centers and 352 places for counseling, health, and wellness services. Tiby has much less at 8 health centers and 155 places providing counseling, health and wellness services.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiuiP-ekqbgAhUJW60KHe3MDuEQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmillenniumvillages.org%2Ffield-notes%2Fmillennium-village-programs-now-in-more-than-20-countries%2F&psig=AOvVaw2K2I34hO5Cfit__4IFYo9T&ust=1549509330537049
  • Tiby was chosen to be a Millennium Village, because it is one of the poorest areas in Mali. Koraro is also at the top of the list of poorest areas in Ethiopia. Mali struggles with crops due to the little rainfall it receives each year. This has led to the area to having a child mortality rate and the majority of the population underweight and unhealthy. Koreo’s problems emerge due to its geographic location. Also receiving little rainfall, this piece of northern Ethiopia is surrounded by dust land. Koreo also has a lack of roads leading to a disconnect to the outside world. Koreo’s main goals were to improve the abilities of transportation and heighten number of recourses produced, creating more jobs. Tiby created a drip irrigation technology and planted 13 vegetable gardens to combat their goal of helping the malnourishment of the village.
  • Jeffrey Sach‘s approach of integrated development was attacked and criticized. When you look at the Millennium Villages Project, it’s hard to confidently know that these countries it is based in would not have had changes and successes without the project. Another criticism is that the villages looked at have nothing to be compared to, like a piece of a country that is not under the development plan. Many critics say that there is little evidence to back the statement that the project was successful in helping the villages.
  • I think it’s interesting and important that the Millennium Villages set a goal of including and promoting all types of individuals to be active in the community and to succeed, which they highlighted under the website column titled Local Ownership. This mirrors how minorities are fighting to get represented in the United States in things like the media, television, and movies today.

By: Victoria Travers