Since the 15 April outbreak of hostilities in Sudan, the civilian population has been bearing the brunt. The Rapid Support Forces, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (called Hemeti), are in conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s de facto head of state. Nearly 1.4 million people have been […]
What today’s labor leaders can learn from the explosive rise and quick fall of the typesetters union
Can a seemingly robust labor union simply collapse? The news is full of stories about growing union power – but just because a union is strong now doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way. Important unions have put themselves out of business before. The International Typographical Union, or ITU, is one such example. Once it was […]
6 ways Canadians can prepare for the upcoming recession
Although it certainly feels like it, and many people believe it, we are not in a recession yet. While a recession is defined as two successive quarters of negative GDP growth, it is essentially a period where economic growth falls significantly and unemployment rates rise. Given the lack of a precise definition, there is not […]
eNaira: Nigeria’s digital currency has had a slow start
Nigeria was the first country in Africa to roll out a central bank digital currency. The eNaira was launched in October 2021. The main reasons were to promote financial inclusion, increase cross-border transactions, facilitate diaspora remittances and complement existing payment systems. But adoption has been low so far. Less than 0.5% of Nigerians were using […]
changing how we measure progress is key to tackling a world in crisis – three leading experts
It’s an odd quirk of history that, on the first day of his ill-fated presidential campaign in March 1968, Robert F Kennedy chose to talk to his audience about the limitations of gross domestic product* (GDP) – the world’s headline indicator of economic progress. It seems stranger still that, despite the power of that iconic […]
A carbon tax on investment income could be more fair and make it less profitable to pollute – a new analysis shows why
About 10 years ago, a very thick book written by a French economist became a surprising bestseller. It was called “Capital in the 21st Century.” In it, Thomas Piketty traces the history of income and wealth inequality over the past couple of hundred years. The book’s insights struck a chord with people who felt a […]
What William Ruto’s presidency would mean for Kenya’s economy
William Ruto has been declared the winner of Kenya’s 2022 presidential election and is set to inherit an economy that’s not in great shape. For example, unemployment is running high, a fact that fuelled the youth resentment against the government of outgoing president Uhuru Kenyatta. Kenya’s economy generates less than 200,000 formal jobs for the […]
Ordinary Russians are already feeling the economic pain of sanctions over Ukraine invasion
The daily life of ordinary Russians – not just the country’s political elite or super rich oligarchs – is already being impacted by economic measures imposed by the international community in response to the invasion of Ukraine. As a scholar of Russia’s political economy, I was surprised by the speed and severity of the Western […]
Why is Tax Day on April 18 this year? And how did early spring become tax season, anyhow?
Mid-April has arrived. And along with the spring sunshine, that means the often dreaded civic duty of finishing off one’s taxes. It’s an arduous time for many, characterized by navigating increasingly confusing rules to arrive at the best refund possible. For some, it means writing a check to the federal government. Not fun. On a […]
Nigeria’s debt is sustainable, but dangers loom on the horizon
The World Bank recently ranked Nigeria fifth on the list of 10 countries to which it has the highest debt exposure. Nigeria owes the International Development Association – one of the two lending arms of the World Bank – US$11.7 billion. The International Development Association lends to countries based on their relative poverty or per […]