Thursday, June 07, 2007
Shikwati Economy
Please PLEASE read this interview with African (Kenyan) economist James Shikwati on the issue of aid from developed countries being sent to poor countries (everywhere, but in Africa and Kenya specifically).
A lot of the stuff in this article is stuff I've been suspicious of for a long time but never had the data to support it. Granted he doesn't supply any 'data' in this interview either, other than making a ton of sense.
It's quite possible I've selected information due to some confirmation or disconfirmation bias, but I'm willing to live with that in hopes that you'll read this an consider the opinion. I have a ton to say about this but I don't have time right now. Hopefully this will generate some food for thought for you. It certainly did for me.
My favourite quotes:
A lot of the stuff in this article is stuff I've been suspicious of for a long time but never had the data to support it. Granted he doesn't supply any 'data' in this interview either, other than making a ton of sense.
It's quite possible I've selected information due to some confirmation or disconfirmation bias, but I'm willing to live with that in hopes that you'll read this an consider the opinion. I have a ton to say about this but I don't have time right now. Hopefully this will generate some food for thought for you. It certainly did for me.
My favourite quotes:
"A portion of the corn often goes directly into the hands of unscrupulous politicians who then pass it on to their own tribe to boost their next election campaign. Another portion of the shipment ends up on the black market where the corn is dumped at extremely low prices. Local farmers may as well put down their hoes right away; no one can compete with the UN's World Food Program. And because the farmers go under in the face of this pressure, Kenya would have no reserves to draw on if there actually were a famine next year. It's a simple but fatal cycle."
"Why do we get these mountains of clothes? No one is freezing here. Instead, our tailors lose their livlihoods. They're in the same position as our farmers. No one in the low-wage world of Africa can be cost-efficient enough to keep pace with donated products. In 1997, 137,000 workers were employed in Nigeria's textile industry. By 2003, the figure had dropped to 57,000. The results are the same in all other areas where overwhelming helpfulness and fragile African markets collide."
"When an aid organization needs a driver, dozens apply for the job. And because it's unacceptable that the aid worker's chauffeur only speaks his own tribal language, an applicant is needed who also speaks English fluently -- and, ideally, one who is also well mannered. So you end up with some African biochemist driving an aid worker around, distributing European food, and forcing local farmers out of their jobs. That's just crazy!"
