Hadas: Malthus, Condorcet and “shithole” economics 17 Jan 2018 The English curate was totally wrong about permanent poverty, but the legacy of his grim expectations still clouds judgments. His lesser-known French rival was a better guide. Condorcet would have expected the recent progress in countries the U.S. president seems to despise.
Irish mogul fails to connect with IPO investors 7 Oct 2015 Denis O’Brien has shelved plans for a $2 billion listing of Digicel, his Caribbean telco. Markets haven’t treated recent IPOs kindly. But Digicel’s undemocratic voting structure, high debt and exposure to the Haitian gourde required an especially strong stomach.
Review: Haiti’s unreconstructed disaster story 11 Jan 2013 It is three years since a massive earthquake hit the Caribbean state. A new book suggests that a multi-billion dollar international aid effort failed badly. Much of the supposed help was wasteful or even harmful. Money proved a poor substitute for know-how, empathy and trust.