Business
How to make a depression Great
IPN Opinion article
This analyst argues against protectionism from the perspective of the countries who have suffered most from it: Africa's human experiments in economics sound a terrible warning.
Protect Africa's artists or their music will die
IPN Opinion article
African governments must unleash the talents and abilities of their creators and entrepreneurs, including peasants, their manufacturers and their hugely popular but under-rewarded musicians.
Unchain Africa's Melodies
IPN Opinion article
Many kinds of African music are loved the world over yet most African musicians remain bitterly poor: a few remarkable individuals have found success abroad but only South Africa offers the kind of legal protection for property rights that Western creative talents take for granted. These authors describe how copyright underpinned the investments and the creative rights that launched Nashville, a story that can be imitated anywhere. Zambia shows how failure can be turned around quickly. See the full report Nashville in Africa here.
Blame bad rules, not bad capitalism
IPN Opinion article
Everyone has something to say about the credit crunch but very few can explain simply what it's all about and where to go next: this well-published economist does that.
Attack on patents hurts the poor
IPN Opinion article
The 'patients not patents' campaign has a simplistic appeal but will only make things worse for the poor, as well as distracting attention from the real causes of ill health: poverty and corruption. Africans must not let their health and growth be damaged by populist propaganda.
Attacking patents halts progress
IPN Opinion article
The UN's latest climate talks, in Accra, heard much talk about waiving patents on 'green', low-carbon and renewable products which will, somehow, magically, help fight climate change. The real barrier to new technology in most developing countries, however, is high tariff barriers ñ and these barriers are generally higher the poorer the country. What is worse, countries that ignore intellectual property rights chase away the foreign investors so badly needed for growth and for the transfer of technology.
