The little girl she said to me What are these things that I can see Each night when I come home from school When mama calls me in for tea On every […]
Gavin Chait
Economist, data scientist, entrepreneur, author. Fascinated by the frontiers of human progress: innovation vs ignorance; wealth vs poverty. Oh, and coffee. @GavinChait and https://gavinchait.com
Live Earth will end climate change the way Live Aid ended poverty in Africa … er
Major music festivals do make a difference. To the careers of self-indulgent pop stars and fading ex-rockers. It makes the former look a little less like selfish gits and the latter get […]
People, Planet and Profits: the complexities of corporate governance
“Wits University, in Johannesburg, invited student representation onto the University Board. Meetings that used to take four hours now take two days,” says Judge Mervyn King, Chair of the Global Reporting Initiative […]
The naked tail: how online social networks are destroying offline social conventions
There is a spectre stalking the fringes of social networking; of Facebook, of MySpace, of LinkedIn. It will linger long after the romance of connecting with old friends is gone. It is […]
The Trouble with Paradise, or why Pakistan sucks
Many years of grizzled travelling will give you a cavalier attitude to roadside cuisine and a thick skin to the casual xenophobia which occasionally greets the weary traveller. Most tourists have trouble-free […]
More Americans out of work: the unintended consequence of banning migrants
I have remarked on more than one occasion that what business owners want, more than anything, is stability. Companies can deal with high taxes and impossible labour rules as long as they […]
Iran’s energy security breaks down
Iran has long claimed that their need for nuclear research and development is all in the name of energy security and self-sufficiency. Yesterday the Iranian government imposed new fuel rationing, limiting individuals […]
Getting home in Zimbabwe: The impossibility of public transport
By the time you finish reading this article the cost of a taxi-ride home from work in Harare will have doubled. Zimbabwe, which continues to subsidise fuel prices, has had fuel shortages […]
World trade talks fail … again
The Doha round of world trade talks have collapsed once again. The latest gathering saw India and Brazil vs the US and EU in Germany. The conflict is straightforward: Developed countries: subsidise […]
The tragedy of innovation: how brilliant ideas are criminalised
“This push for a so-called “green revolution” or “gene revolution” is being done once again under the guise of solving hunger in Africa. Chemical-intensive agriculture is, however, already known to be outmoded. […]
Progressive Culture | Scholars & Rogues 