I was on BBC earlier today and came across this article on Konza Technology City, a tech center that will be built in Kenya outside Nairobi. In a bit of excitement I posted a comment on Facebook that this could be a boon to investment...then I re-read the article. I think that, indeed, it could be … Continue reading “Africa’s Silicon Savannah”…What will Kenya get from Konza?
Political Economy
Bad Economic Analysis
I can't help myself...I saw this on Facebook and had to comment. But instead of bombing my friend's comment section, I decided something that was becoming a 300 word blog post should just be a proper blog post. Read the picture below; I've provided commentary underneath. There are a few problems with the above analysis. … Continue reading Bad Economic Analysis
Crowdsourcing 2013’s Content!
So with the new year starting Tuesday, I will be continuing to blog into 2013. The past year has mostly focused on my interest areas, political science, conflict and technology. But I've also mused on things that are not my "core expertise", such as gun control and domestic politics. Since I'll be finishing coursework this … Continue reading Crowdsourcing 2013’s Content!
The political economy of cynicism: What else could you do with $100,000 in Pakistan?
I'm generally not big on entering into the fray when it comes to the politics of the Muslim world, since I'm not an expert on the topic. But I am an expert on political economy and coalition behavior is contested spaces. The news of Pakistan's Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour's $100,000 reward to anyone who murders Nakoula … Continue reading The political economy of cynicism: What else could you do with $100,000 in Pakistan?
Friday Wrap-up
What's happened in political economy, conflict and tech this week? Every Friday I'm going to take on the personal challenge of writing a wrap-up with a bit of analysis, along with the usual longer posts and book reviews. So without further ado... Mining strikes continue in South Africa after the Lonmin miners' strike in August. … Continue reading Friday Wrap-up
Philippe Le Billon: Wars of Plunder (Columbia University Press: 2012)
Philippe Le Billon’s Wars of Plunder takes previous research on the mathematical relationship between natural resources and conflict and combines this with qualitative understandings of power and space to create a nuanced explanation of how different natural resources relate to conflict. Focusing initially on work done by economists such as Paul Collier and Macartan Humphreys, … Continue reading Philippe Le Billon: Wars of Plunder (Columbia University Press: 2012)
Benghazi part 2
So I was going to do two parts, but upon reflection I decided against it. The second aspect I was thinking about writing on was fairly partisan, and while politics is part of this site's purview I decided in the end it's best to leave the partisanship to the domestic politics folks. I'll have a … Continue reading Benghazi part 2
An Unscientific Look at Stock Market Performance and Mobile Money, Pt.2
Yesterday we wrapped the post by saying that perhaps there's some way that market indicators such as currency performance and basis rates could indicate the ripeness for a mobile money program in a country. This begs the question though about whether mobile banking actually leads to better economic outcomes for people, or just tells us … Continue reading An Unscientific Look at Stock Market Performance and Mobile Money, Pt.2
An Unscientific Look at Stock Market Performance and Mobile Money, Pt.1
I'm still on this "political economy of technology for development/peace" kick. This article came to mind since I've seen a lot of research on mobile money from the mobile telephone access side, but not much on the macroeconomic side (please share if you have good stuff on this!). I do like this piece from William Jack … Continue reading An Unscientific Look at Stock Market Performance and Mobile Money, Pt.1
Post on the Lowy Interpreter!
For those who have been wondering what I've been doing with my writing, and why I haven't been as active on Espresso Politics the last few days, here's the excuse. My colleague Gerard McCarthy and I had a blog post on tech for diplomacy in the Asia/Pacific region published on the Lowy Institute's blog The … Continue reading Post on the Lowy Interpreter!
Charles P. Martin-Shields 