Read all posts for ‘Development’

There is one very striking difference between traveling through villages in Hungary and Bavaria, Germany. In Bavaria, almost all the rooftops are covered by solar panels; in Hungarian villages none are. At first glance it would seem that Germany has found its way to clean, sustainable energy. However, this view […]

The question whether growth and sustainability can coexist makes me think of production factors which often crop up in economic discussions. Take for instance, if a country like Uganda wants to pump its newly found oil, it needs land, labour, capital and entrepreneurs to do a good job. These are […]

 (Para una versión en español de este artículo, entrar aquí). Nina needed a place to put her trash. The rusty garbage bin near her house, like the bin down the street, was filled to the brim just days after the town’s garbage collectors made their weekly visit to Nina’s street […]

  Free trade in Brazil has an inglorious past and an uncertain future. World Bank data shows that as of 2011the country lies at the very bottom of a ranking of merchandise trade (the sum of exports and imports) as a fraction of GDP: less than 20 percent of Brazil’s annual domestic […]

The current climate of upheaval and commotion took Brazilian decisionmakers by surprise. This is partly because the government so far has been a little too comfortable with the state of things as they are.  Up to present, all their press releases and interviews have revealed nothing but coolness and complacency […]