The World Economic Forum (WEF) held its annual meeting last week. The theme of this year was “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond.” I didn’t follow the event but I was curious to find out whether they had any Africa-related discussions. And yes, I found an article titled “How can Africa […]
The Rich Poor Divide in sub-Saharan Africa
One thing that struck me in Nairobi was the income gap. Neither picture is truthful. The same misconception can come from looking at country-level economic statistics unwisely. “Consumer income is one of the most important economic factors creating distance between countries,” according to my colleague Ghemawat. Simple as this may seem, it gets complicated when […]
Africa Meets Poverty Reduction Targets
During my stay in Lagos, I met a woman who asked me what my impressions were. I told her I found it hard to look at the poverty there, which surprised her, “Where do you see poverty?” she asked, pointing out the many signs of development there. As a matter of fact, poverty and wealth coexist […]