This story offers a rare view into the economic relationship between Nigeria and its neighbor Benin, focusing on informal trade/ "smuggling" between the two countries. The analysis looks at how the economic crisis is affecting the informal/black market sector - so often a critical part of economies in the developing world. The first section gives background on how the re-export trade between the two countries is structured, while the second section explores the effect the economic crisis has had on Nigerian traders and the large chunk of the Beninois economy that depends on them. Very informative!

This op-ed left me with a lot of questions. First of all, I don't see how it's possible to talk about unemployment these days without mentioning the global recession. When so many countries are suffering from record unemployment levels it seems rather callous to label the unemployed as "parasites." Another example: The author gives the statistic that only 56% of Israel's potential workforce is employed, but the figure is cited without providing much context (what about students? the wealthy? families where one parent decides to stay at home with the kids? Are these all parasites?). Clearly, just because one isn't working does not necessarily mean one is living off the state. I was left curious to know what percentage of ... More »

A simple, entertaining explanation of what caused the economic crisis. For anyone still a little uncomfortable with finance lingo, this is great explanation of what happened (and an easy way to understand things like CDOs, ABSs and NINA loans).