Weekend Reading
The unemployment rate decreased in 36 US states last month.
Africa
Weekend Reading
Goldman Sachs thinks that US unemployment will peak in 2011. Yikes.
Plus, a power point presentation of Goldman's Compensation Practices. Take a look and see if you're convinced.
Microfinance Obstacles: Southern Sudan edition
Last month, Ryan took a look at the impact of the financial crisis on microfinance in Latin America, arguing that uncompetitive microfinance markets and small or inexperienced MFIs were responsible for increased premiums.
Africa and the Crisis: What's Next?
Vox has an informative article by two South African economists, Peter Draper and Gilberto Biacuana, highlighting the effects of declining trade flows on African growth. The first half of the piece offers an excellent summary of Sub-Saharan Africa's economic state as a result of the crisis. The authors argue that the crisis has affected Africa mostly through reduced exports and commodity prices, along with declining capital inflows.
The Lure of Local Bonds
IFC announced yesterday that it will issue a $43m local currency bond in Central Africa, a first for the World Bank institution, and also a first for a non-local financial institution. This is IFC's second local currency bond in Sub-Saharan Africa, following its issuance of a West African Kola Bond in late 2006:
How relevant is the location of informal businesses for policy?
A distinction is often made between informal firms operating within, versus outside, household premises. In some sense, the former represent the quintessential informal firms beset with a number of problems, such as low efficiency, etc. Policies aimed at bringing informal firms into the fold of the formal sector could therefore be expected to have a bigger impact when targeted toward informal firms operating within, rather than outside, the household.
China stat of the day; plus, a turnaround in Zimbabwe?
While IFC is strengthening its involvement in India, China is deepening its economic ties in Africa.
The theory of industrial policy meets reality
The idea of industrial policy has been seeing a bit of a resurgence since the financial crisis. It's good to be reminded of the reality of what these policies end up looking like in practice.
Weekend Reading
Zimbabwe's inflation ranks as the second worst in history. Who's first?
Cool graph on the commitment to development of specific countries. Sweden comes on top.
The two Koreas.