January 24, 2012 12:36 PM
Much has been written about hyperinflation. However, since most of us have never had to live with it (yet), we really don’t think much of it. Given that Ben Bernanke seems to think that Zimbabwean central banker Gideon Gono was onto something with his plan to print deflation away, it may be useful to look a bit at the hyperinflation that Zimbabwe went through. For the causes of this hyperinflation, see Zimbabwe Part I. As we visited the businesses and bars of Zimbabwe, everyone shared their own ... more
January 20, 2012 2:41 AM
In the West, many of us think that we know the Zimbabwe story and it goes something like this. The prosperous colony of Rhodesia was abandoned to its fate by the British as they succumbed to socialism after World War II. Ian Smith, the leader of Rhodesia, was condemned by the West for seceding from the British Commonwealth, but he stubbornly refused to let Rhodesia be overrun by Marxist revolutionaries. Abandoned by the West for continuing with Apartheid, he was eventually cajoled into accep... more
January 15, 2012 12:43 PM
Like most countries in Africa, no one really knows the numbers in Mozambique. The government numbers are politicized, the NGO numbers completely ignore the unofficial sector—which is frequently many times the official sector, and businessmen operate by guesstimate. How many people live in Mozambique? Any number between 20 and 25 million is about as accurate as it gets. How big is the economy? The government will tell you that it’s about USD $9 billion. I didn’t encounter a businessman who th... more
January 4, 2012 3:52 PM
Let’s start with the most shocking fact from my visit to Mozambique; for a country with an AK-47 on its flag, it sure is peaceful. I’ve been in search of a way to adequately describe Mozambique to friends back home. Jamaica without the reefer? New Orleans without the Popeye’s? Antigua with resources? I still cannot really put my finger on it, but it’s a combination of some of my favorite countries—friendly people, great beach and even better food. Most importantly, beneath the country is ... more
December 30, 2011 1:20 PM
By the time that you read this, I will be on my way to Africa, a continent of unlimited possibilities. Before I talk about what I see there, I think it’s important to walk through a quick historical overview. I apologize in advance for lumping nearly 50 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa into a few quick paragraphs, but the historical similarities become obvious when you think of the continent in this way.Europeans discovered Africa in the late 1400s. It was seen as a good staging area for reaching... more
