Niger’s up for exploration this week. It has a population of 17 million people, and it skews young: the median age is 15, no surprise given that the country has the highest birthrate in the world. The per capita GDP of $800 is among the lowest in the world. This isn’t a country that is… [Read More]
Blog
Category: Emerging Markets
Al-Jazeera’s series on French North Africa
I’ve been doing my look at Africa for a few months now, one country a week, and one thing that hits me is that it would be easier if I knew French. I’ve watched four movies with subtitles. At the UIC library, half the books that look good have to go back on the shelf… [Read More]
Mali – Bamako
The Africa country-by-country project continues, this week with Bamako, set in the capital of Mali. It’s a seriously weird, seriously interesting movie. There are three main parts to it. The first is a mock trial , featuring the people of Mali versus the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The director, Abderrahmane Sissako, filmed… [Read More]
Three Percent is great blog about international literature
Literature, movies, music, food, and other forms of culture are a way to learn more about the world. They are not substitutes for serious financial analysis, but they give us insights on people and places. I’m always looking for great resources to help learn more about the world, so I was excited to find this:… [Read More]
Mauritania: The Struggle for Democracy
Mauritania is a country of about 3.5 million people. It is very poor, and it still has slavery. Slavery is officially outlawed, but it’s hard to stop practices that have been in place for centuries among a nomadic people spread out across the Sahara. France granted Mauritania independence 1960. Most of the post-colonial era has… [Read More]
