Quick thanks for a tip from a pal via Tweet, here's a thought-provoking article on Informal Trade in East Africa. Kate Douglas writes in HowWeMadeItInAfrica.com
I'll leave you to read it, it's about the underestimation of the power and importance of "informal" markets in Africa, and how "off the books" trade makes African commerce look smaller than it really is. That's not a huge surprise - how much of the growth in China's economy came from record-keeping of trade previously off the record?
The thoughts provoked here are based on my sadness and disgust at the levels of corruption I witnessed while living in Africa in the mid-80s. I remember going through checkpoints in East Zaire (Dem Republic of Congo) which were set up by soldiers on dirt roads in the jungle. Using a fallen tree to block the road, the soldiers would stop taxivans and demand bribes, while waving machine guns.
When "formal" is run by criminals, the moral market may be the informal.
Wheelbarrows of dollars: Understanding informal trade in East Africa
I'll leave you to read it, it's about the underestimation of the power and importance of "informal" markets in Africa, and how "off the books" trade makes African commerce look smaller than it really is. That's not a huge surprise - how much of the growth in China's economy came from record-keeping of trade previously off the record?The thoughts provoked here are based on my sadness and disgust at the levels of corruption I witnessed while living in Africa in the mid-80s. I remember going through checkpoints in East Zaire (Dem Republic of Congo) which were set up by soldiers on dirt roads in the jungle. Using a fallen tree to block the road, the soldiers would stop taxivans and demand bribes, while waving machine guns.
When "formal" is run by criminals, the moral market may be the informal.
