The second Russia-Africa Summit takes place in St Petersburg on 27-28 July. This comes at a time of a major geopolitical shift, which African leaders may see as offering beneficial opportunities. The previous summit, in 2019, led to the signing of 92 agreements, contracts and memoranda of understanding worth over $11 billion. Several African countries […]
How to fix the pensions triple lock but still protect pensioners from high inflation
Plans to increase state pension payments in line with inflation have been reinstated by the UK government and are supported by both of the contenders for the Conservative party leadership. But even if inflation was not always at the 40-year high we are currently seeing, a more sustainable way of calculating pensioners’ state income is […]
winners, losers and ways forward
Lecturers in Nigerian public universities have embarked on strikes 16 times since 1999. Cumulatively, the public universities have lost about 50 months of their academic calendar to these actions in the last 23 years. The reasons for the strikes generally relate to funding and salary issues. Nigeria has 217 licensed universities. The federal government runs […]
5 policies for Biden’s next climate bill
President Joe Biden’s new climate strategy, announced after his original plan crumbled under opposition in Congress, will represent a historic investment in clean energy technology and infrastructure if it is enacted. But it is still not likely to be enough to meet the administration’s emissions reduction goals for 2030. As director of the Fletcher School’s […]
Nigeria’s transport grant isn’t the best way to allocate fuel subsidy savings: here’s what is
Following unrelenting pressure by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, the Nigerian government intends to eliminate its fuel subsidy in July 2022. Nigeria spent about N10 trillion (currently US$24.5 billion) on petroleum subsidies between 2006 and 2018. About $2.5 billion was spent on fuel subsidies in 2020. It is expected that the subsidy […]
Jobs report hints that Fed policy is paying off – and that a ‘growth recession’ awaits
The latest jobs report is in, and the good news is Federal Reserve policy on inflation appears to be working. The bad news is Fed policy on inflation appears to be working. The March 2023 jobs report reveals that the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs during the month – roughly in line with expectations. A […]
If the US defaults on debt, expect the dollar to fall – and with it, Americans’ standard of living
Congress has seemingly kicked the debt ceiling deadline down the road – but the threat of a future default still exists. On Oct. 7, 2021, lawmakers in the Senate agreed to extend the government’s ability to borrow until December. It came after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered a temporary suspension to the debt limit, […]
Ghana’s debt makes development impossible: here are some solutions
By the year 2000, the government of Ghana had borrowed so much that the country was in debt distress. It then subscribed to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries initiative of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Consequently, much of the country’s external debt of over US$4 billion was written off by creditors. By the […]
Four priorities for Nigeria’s newly elected national assembly
Nigeria’s National Assembly – the 10th since independence – was inaugurated on 13 June 2023. It has two arms: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The 109 senators and 360 representatives were elected on 25 February 2023. Godswill Akpabio was elected Senate president and Tajudeen Abass House of Representatives speaker. Its primary responsibility is […]
here’s how it could work
The credit rating industry in Africa is dominated by the three international agencies: Moody’s, S&P and Fitch. Together they control an estimated 95% of the credit rating business globally. Credit rating agencies are institutions that assess a borrower’s creditworthiness in general terms, or with respect to a particular debt or financial obligation. A credit rating […]