Some Development Issues and Debates

The Macro and micro-economic dynamics corner Of subsidizing building materials as a development strategy Greenwell Matchaya, PhD** **The author is an Economist, with expertise in macro and micro economic policy analysis   For feedback send views to matchayag@yahoo.co.uk Now that the campaign period is over (or is it not?) it is useful to switch modes from that excitement to doing the real activities that will lead to achievement of the aspirations that we collectively have as a nation. It is important to discuss real issues collectively and in an honest manner for the benefit of the nation. In this short note, we examine the subsidization of building materials which the current government maybe about to start considering for implementation as a development policy.     The DPP which is the ruling party for the current government states in their manifesto that Housing: The DPP government will introduce and implement a subsidy on cement and iron sheets to empowe

The results of the troubled tripartite elections in malawi are out . In general the partial view shows that Malawi will have a hang parliament where the opposition will have to be looped in for the government to pass bills. The MCP won 49 of the MPs, the DPP won 49 as well , while the PP won 26 and the UDF 14.

http://www.mwnation.com/business-news-the-nation/business-review/13300-in-search-of-keys-to-malawi-ailing-economy In search of keys to Malawi ailing economy Category: Business ReviewWritten by INNOCENT HELEMA. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the Malawi economy Malawi’s macroeconomic indicators; inflation, gross domestic product (GDP) and foreign exchange reserves are all in the red. This is certainly bad news for businesses and consumers. There have, however, been efforts by government such as the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP) to be implemented over 18 months with specific reforms on monetary policy, but experts have so far argued that this might be futile. The ERP, launched about two months ago, sets targets on inflation rate to single digit, import cover to the internationally recommended three months and annual growth rate of 5.7 percent by December 2013. In the long term, however, the ERP focuses on five sectors of energy, tourism, mining, agriculture, transport

Greenwell Matchaya, PhD Feedback to: greenwellmatchaya@yahoo.com Introduction : The current government’s effort to get the economy out of the economic problems at hand are commendable and the effort put in authoring the Economic Recovery Plan have to be celebrated as an indicator that probably someone somewhere out there is contemplating of doing something. Having said that , it ought to be said without fear of contradiction that some, if not most of the plans in the recovery plan do not appear to be founded on any solid economic/development theory or empirics. This response to the economic recovery plan is not exhaustive and must not be interpreted as an attempt to undermine government efforts in its bid to get the economy back on its ‘two’ feet, but purports to point at a number of issues that need clarifications, for the betterment of all of us. The comments below are based partially on the understanding that we are in these problems due to the economy’s fai

In a debate on airlines and efficiency with a colleague aboard American airlines some time back, I vehemently argued that high prices characteristic of SA airlines were symptomatic of structural as well as efficiency problems and that sustainability was questionable given the stronger competition from KA, ET, etc. so the loss did not surprise me....Again, i should say now: The high auto prices in SA is an efficiency, labour wage, union power, and credit market issue...given low GDP pc such prices are unsustainable...either the financial market crashes, or the have-notes will bring econ activity to a halt...give this prophecy some time..it will come to pass Ceteris paribus. For one car in SA, you lose too new cars in UK and US!

While countries of the West, Asia and Latin America appear to be doing fine on average, some countries in Africa appear to be trapped in poverty without a clear way out. Nations like the DRC, Zambia, Tanzania, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia and of course Malawi, among still have larger proportions of their population living below the US$ 1.25, per day poverty line. Obviously, if there was some magic bullet for sorting this out, most of these countries would have been rich already. While we know some of the challenges that poor countries face in their bid to uplift the lives of the poor, our knowledge needs to always be supplemented by views from various sources. Recently I collected some opinions on how Malawi can develop from my friends on Face book. The Question was: ‘Will Malawi ever develop? Below are some insights from contributors. What do you think? Any policy lessons for the GoM? • Bright Sibale What is development in your context bwana? August 18 at 11:16am via mobile • Unli