Lesotho and leadership

Today we climbed Thaba Bosiu, the famous mountain in current Lesotho which used to be the famous King Moshoeshoe I's natural fortress. With lots of grazing and a good source of water it proved to be resistant to Zulus, Ngunis, Boers and Brits.  When eventually the Boers did start to seriously threaten the kingdom, Moshoeshoe diplomacy saved the day. Basutoland was placed under British protection, paving the way for a fully independent Lesotho in 1966. Some still refer to Moshoeshoe as Africa's greatest leader. 

Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa...

From RePec an article highlighting the importance of governance and institutions in development success:

Development Progress in sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons from Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa

Date:	2010
By:	Naudé, Wim
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp2010-07&r=afr
Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and South Africa are sub-Saharan African countries that stand out for their development progress. Each of these countries has succeeded against the odds, against expectations. This paper synthesizes the common ingredients of these countries’ success, and derives lessons. It concludes that smallness, landlockedness, tropical location, distance from world markets, racism, colonialism and other challenges can be overcome through appropriate institutions, governance and good economic policies.
Keywords:	sub-Saharan Africa, development, success, country role models See also earlier blogposts "Unmasking Africa's seven success stories" and "Go Gabon"

Quote of the day: The future of capitalism

"Coming back to the question whether capitalism is failing, the discussions and findings in the papers in this issue suggest that capitalism is here to survive but the role played by governments is likely to increase over time."

From:

Future of capitalism: Is it failing?

By

Ali M. Kutan

In

Economic Systems, Volume 34, Issue 1, March 2010, Pages 1-2

A new era of complexity in economics

A new working paper on the era of complexity in economics:

The Complexity Era in Economics

Date:	2010-01
By:	David Colander Richard P.F. Holt J. Barkley Rosser
URL:	http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mdl:mdlpap:1001&r=evo
This article argues that the neoclassical era in economics has ended and is being replaced by a new era. What best characterizes the new era is its acceptance that the economy is complex, and thus that it might be called the complexity era. The complexity era has not arrived through a revolution. Instead, it has evolved out of the many strains of neoclassical work, along with work done by less orthodox mainstream and heterodox economists. It is only in its beginning stages. The article discusses the work that is forming the foundation of the complexity era, and how that work will likely change the way in which we understand economic phenomena and the economics profession.

Click here for full PDF.

For earlier blogposts on the topic of complexity in cities see here.

H/T: nep.repec