Looks like Larry Elliott has at least learned something about development:
We know what is needed: a system of property rights, the rule of law,
the absence of conflict, access to financial, technological and
management know-how and basic skills.
This little part also makes sense:
Africa will only cease to be the world’s poorest continent when it
boasts a thriving commercial sector; the lesson from history is that
countries cannot make the transition from subsistence to industrial
economies without access to large quantities of capital.
Where is that capital to come from? Well, who has lots of it? We westerners, the North, the rich. Which leads to possibly an uncomfortable realisation for some. One of the things that will help Africa develop is those ghastly multi-nationals going and investing there. Don’t tell Naomi Klein, her head will explode.
Trade barriers within Africa are as serious an impediment to development as are unfair global trade rules.
Ain’t that the truth.
The policies foisted on indebted countries by the IMF and the World
Bank – liberalising imports, for example – have often been precisely
the opposite of what is needed to build up a manufacturing base.
Err, how do you reconcile those two statements? Either trade barriers should come down as they are a serious impediment to development or they should stay or go up as an antidote to liberalising imports. Can’t have both now, can we?
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