Stories about Economics & Business from July, 2006
Sri Lanka: Trade Unions and Development
Land Like No Other discusses trade unions in Sri LankaS, and if the comparison with developed countries accurately presents the case of trade unions and development. “Privatization is not a devil as these labour unions trying to emphasize. All they worry is, that they can't misuse the properties of these...
Zimbabwe: End in sight?
Are we there yet? asks Eddie Cross, guest-blogging for Zimpundit, and wondering if Zimbabwe really is about to see the end of the Mugabe regime.
Sierra Leone: Economist's tale
R.E. Ekosso reviews, and even approves of, The Economist's Tale, written by World Bank consultant Peter Griffiths after a recent research trip to Sierra Leone. “This book”, says Griffiths in his introduction, “shows that it is individuals who cause poverty, underdevelopment and famine, by their actions, by their failure to...
Laos: Growing Economy
Samakomlao blog links to a radioaustralia report that is talking about the economic activity in Lao.
Latin America: Mercorsur Summit
The Mercosur summit ended with Hugo and Fidel stealing the limelight says Erwin Cifuentes. Greg Weeks sorts out the implications of Venezuela's new membership in the trade bloc. Finally, Ricardo Carreón argues that Mexico could and should become the trade organizations first non-South American member.
Kazakhstan: Criminal Medical Tender
Leila translates a Russian-language post about a health care scandal in Kazakhstan's Karaganda region.
African countries need technocrats
Africa Unchained points to a passage in George Ayittey's book by the same name, which runs: “We need TECHNOCRATS to fix our broken, dysfunctional institutions. REPAIRMEN or plumbers who will unclog the gutters or the system. CUTLASSES to chop down all the dead wood.”
Kenya: Job loss
“It's odd to quit a job,” writes Kenyan Musings, who just quit hers. “People think you are nuts…but it gets to the point where if you allow yourself to be depleted to the point where your professional tank is empty and you are running on fumes of habit, everybody loses....
Kenya: Meeting with Bill Gates
4Sheezy wonders what might have happened if she had managed to get a meeting with Bill Gates while he was in Kenya, to talk about his HIV/AIDS work.
Russia: Fast Food Chain
Vilhelm Konnander writes about a Russian fast food chain, Russkoye Bistro: “There is a well-known popular story on how the Russian troops that defeated Napoleon in the 19th century, sat about the Paris cafés and restaurants urging the waiters for food by shouting “быстро, быстро!” (fast, fast!). Thus, the world-renowned...
Albania: Land Ownership
David Sheern writes about the problem of land ownership in Albania.
Belarus: Economic Sanctions Looming
TOL's Belarus Blog and Andrei Khrapavitski write that “Belarus is soon to be expelled from the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) due to its non-compliance with trade union legislature (mostly when it comes to the rights of the workers).”
Venezuela: Skypecast on Economic Collapse
Francisco sits down with political economist Jonathan DiJohn for a skypecast on Venezuela's economic collapse.
Brunei: Subsidies
The blogger at bruneiresources blog looks at the various subsidies that a Brunei citizen enjoys in the Kingdom. The blogger also introduces a local cartoonist's blog at the end of the post.
Armenia: Apricot Republic
Irina Petrosian discusses the omnipresence of apricots, apricot-related gossip, apricots as an indicator of inflation, and much more that has contributed to Armenia being referred to on occasion as an “apricot republic.”
African Migrants in Australia
African Migrants takes note of a report that says African migrants who held a job before leaving their homeland in search of work are more likely to find employment on arrival in Australia.
African Women: Call for Nominations
African Women posts a call for nominations for the African Women of Distinction book and video exhibition scheduled for December 2006. The aim, the announcement says, is to profile the stories and work of 20 women in Africa who embody the essence of leadership, determination, and innovation in addressing social,...
French-Speaking Bloggers on Rabat Conference on Migration
What Will the Conference Bring? Says France-based African blogger Le Pangolin, Du 10 au 11 juillet 2006, s'est tenue à Rabat au Maroc, la première rencontre interministérielle euro-africaine sur les problèmes des migrations entre ces deux continents.Elle a regroupé 57 pays africains et européens et certaines organisations humanitaires qui se...
Barbados: Keeping the cotton at home
Linda Thompkins reports on Exclusive Caribbean Cotton Inc's plans to process Barbados's home-grown Sea Island cotton — “one of the most valuable and pricey cotton varieties” — at home instead of exporting the raw material to the US.
Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador: Indian Interest
Massimiliano Cali is surprised to read that, shortly after the nationalization of the natural gas sector, “the Bolivian government is set to approve a US$ 2.3bn bid by two Indian companies to extract of one of the world's largest untapped iron ore deposits.” Meanwhile, Boz notes that India also began...
Ecuador: Petrol Economics
The Wolf Report has reached post number 10 in the series, “The Importance of Being Ecuador.”
