On The Street Where You Live

While economic development can be measured through a history of GDP data, the real yardstick is the history of one street.

Celebrating Economic Independence

Yes, the United States declared independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776 and won the American Revolutionary War. But still, we were not truly independent. George Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton knew that true independence required a vibrant economy. He had…

Seeing Why African Development Is So Tough To Get Started

I just finished and do recommend The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty. Written by a Vanity Fair journalist, the book is a good read. On one level, The Idealist is about a dynamic economist who raised $120 million (and then…

What Golf in China Shows About Economic Development

On a ladder of spending in developing economies, growing affluence first means wheat and meat. Then, climbing somewhat higher, people can afford consumer durables like a washing machine and a car. On a Chinese spending ladder, we could add golf. But it is a…

Happy Birthday to a Great Father (of our economy)

When you sing happy birthday to Alexander Hamilton today, please just think of this upward sloping (logarithmic) economic growth line: Today, 257–or maybe 259–years ago (no one is positive) on the Caribbean island of Nevis, Alexander Hamilton was born. Only…