Africa: Debt Crisis Looming?

7 August 2023 Africa has underperformed economically for a long time. Per capita GDP has risen less than 1% annually during the past 30 years (chart below); lagging all other emerging market regions during this period (although Latam has also slowed in the past decade). During this interval, meanwhile, output per person in the advanced [...]

Spain: Convergence — Finishing the Job!

30 June 2023 I love Spain: the food, wine, sun, landscape, art, architecture, and the unmistakable roar of happy people cascading into the streeets from busy bodegas! Indeed, I just returned from trendy Valencia where the post-Covid atmosphere is bouyant. The 1992 Maastricht treaty -- outlining a path towards the introduction of the Euro in [...]

Asia: Will Global Growth Engine Outperform?

28 May 2023 The IMF's recently released global forecast highlights that Asia will be the only region to experience stronger economic growth this year relative to 2022. Likewise, the Asian economy will outperform all other regions both this year and in 2024 (Chart above). Indeed, the following Chart indicates that Asia will account for over [...]

Russia: Recession May Continue into 2024

2 May 2023 Yes, I concede the Russian economy proved to be more resilient than I expected in 2022. Indeed, Russia's GDP contracted only 2.1% last year compared to my projection that the imposition of sanctions would result in a slump of at least 7%. Of course, one must question the current reliability of Russia's [...]