Economics

Why Is Tax Collection Low in Nigeria? Historical and Cultural Explanations for Nigeria’s Low Domestic Resource Mobilization

Paul JegedeDecember 14, 2020

Despite being Africa’s largest economy, Nigeria is one of the poorest. In 2017, Nigeria had one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in the world. Read more.

December 20/January 21

This photo is for our essay on The Economic Impacts of Internet Shutdowns

Government Control in the Digital Age The Economic Impacts of Internet Shutdowns

Osaye AjariDecember 2, 2020

Internet shutdowns are employed by governments seeking to control the flow of information to a population, often without justifiable reason. Read more.

December 20/January 21

Two Windows COVID-19 and the World Bank’s Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility

Gbolahan BadmusNovember 23, 2020

The Ebola Crisis motivated the World Bank to launch the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility in 2016. But how effective has the PEF been in dealing with COVID-19? Read more.

October/November 2020Special Focus: COVID-19

Electricity Line and Sunset at Dopemu, Lagos, Nigeria

Electrons Are Free but Not Electricity Finding the Right Price for Electricity in Nigeria

Tam AlexNovember 18, 2020

There are over 90 million Nigerians with no access to the electricity grid. Could overregulation and irregular pricing be driving this challenge? Read more.

October/November 2020

This photo is for our post on Ebola, COVID-19 and other unprofitable diseases.

Unprofitable Diseases Ebola, COVID-19 and the Return of Industrial Policy in Africa?

Francisco PerezNovember 17, 2020

Like Ebola, COVID-19 demonstrates the urgent need for domestic pharmaceutical industries in African nations. Read more.

October/November 2020Special Focus: COVID-19

This photo is for our essay on Southern Africa's Persistent Dilemma

Southern Africa’s Persistent Dilemma Coronavirus and the Lost Legacy of the AIDS Epidemic

Liam James KingsleyNovember 2, 2020

While SARS-CoV-2 and HIV are different pathogens, comparing the viruses themselves, as well as how southern Africa has responded to them, can help us better understand the region’s current climate and provide insight into whether coronavirus and its aftermath will spur a crisis on a scale comparable to the United States. Read more.

October/November 2020Special Focus: COVID-19

This photo is for our essay on A monstrous Overlap

A Monstrous Overlap COVID-19 and the New Climate Change Imperative

Oluwaseun OguntuaseOctober 16, 2020

The preparedness of African countries to combat public health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic is debatable, it is obvious that they currently lack the capacity to transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. Read more.

October/November 2020Special Focus: COVID-19

This photo is for our essay on Growth is not enough

Growth is not Enough Why Africa Needs Wellbeing Economies

Ebele MọgọSeptember 30, 2020

Orienting our economies toward wellbeing requires that while we work hard toward accessible health care, we work even harder toward health creation by transforming the systems driving up the need for healthcare. Read more.

August/September 2020

Rethinking African Progress African Development and the Significance of Sacrificial Generations

Abel GaiyaSeptember 7, 2020

Africa’s current state of ‘underdevelopment’ is directly related to the fact that millions of Africans did not die, suffer and become dispossessed in wars of state formation and expansion. Read more.

August/September 2020

Poor Institutions or Unfair Power Dynamics? Notes from Sierra Leone’s Alluvial Diamond Industry

Shaquille GilpinJuly 6, 2020

For resource-rich countries like Sierra Leone to attain any sustainable development, issues related to the criminalization of natural resource extraction must first be addressed. Read more.

June/July 2020