Trade, not aid, will eliminate the welfare trap

IPN Opinion article

Author: James Shikwati

If foreign aid is the answer, the question has to be, how do you make a corrupt clique rich? By James Shikwati

Africa\'s economic tragedy

IPN Opinion article

Author: James Shikwati

As countries seek to tackle HIV/AIDS and other calamities its instructive that the political process be streamlined. Policies that enhance freedom and prosperity are needed urgently to reverse the economic tragedy. The African ruling elites ought to understand that they stand to benefit more with a prosperous population than with an impoverished, sickly nation.

The anti-aid hero whose theories will live on

IPN Opinion article

Author: James Shikwati

Described as a [lone] voice in the wilderness, Lord Bauer wrote books which challenged the myth that poverty is self-perpetuating and demonstrated that Third World countries are not immune to wealth accumulation.

Kenya\'s Budget 2002/3 - Free the dead capital

IPN Opinion article

Author: James Shikwati

. The Kenyan individual will be said to be economically free if his/her wealth accumulation is not through political rent seeking, force, fraud or theft and is protected from the physical invasion by others. Without putting in place policies that release Kenya's creative energies, the prospects of economic growth are slim.

In Uganda, Influx of Aid Dollars Spurs Debate on Economic Effects

IPN Opinion article

"Uganda is beginning to wonder whether too much aid might actually damage its economy."

How America Can Help Africa

IPN Opinion article

"For too long, Africans and their partners in the West have looked to international aid as the answer to the poverty and economic challenges confronting developing countries such as Uganda. While well-intentioned, this over-emphasis on aid has actually handicapped Africa by promoting a dependency mentality and the impression that African countries could not compete in the global economy.

By itself, aid cannot transform societies. Only trade can foster the sustained economic growth necessary for such a transformation. If somebody buys what Uganda produces, then he is rendering my country the best assistance possible, especially if the trade is in manufactured or processed goods, which tend to employ more people, at higher levels of skill, and which have subsidiary benefits throughout the economy."

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