Episode 47: Todd Moss – The Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

Episode 48: Stefan Dercon – Gambling on Development

[https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/41kdpPDyz0L-1-194x300.jpg]https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/41kdpPDyz0L-1.jpg Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy and Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies at the University of Oxford. He is a former DFID chief economist and a policy advisor to the UK foreign secretary. Stefan Dercon argues that countries develop if they achieve an elite bargain, in which the country’s elites gamble on a future with economic growth and shared rising living standards. He cites examples such as China, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and China as examples of this, in contrast to other countries in which the elite has not gambled on development. Stefan draws on considerable experience in low-income countries, complementing his analysis with examples of development trajectories that have, and have not, succeeded.

Episode 47: Todd Moss – The Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

Bestselling author Todd Moss is a former senior State Department official who led America’s response to coups and crises in West Africa. He is also my colleague at the Center for Global Development, where he is a Senior Fellow and Chief Operating Officer.

Episode 47: Todd Moss – The Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

toddmoss [https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/toddmoss-200x300.jpg]https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/toddmoss.jpgBestselling author Todd Moss is a former senior State Department official who led America’s response to coups and crises in West Africa. He is also my colleague at the Center for Global Development, where he is a Senior Fellow and Chief Operating Officer [http://www.cgdev.org/expert/todd-moss]. Todd’s first two books [http://www.toddmossbooks.com/] feature a fictional hero, Judd Ryker, an analyst in State Department. In The Golden Hour [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0399168605/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=0399168605&linkCode=as2&tag=runningforfit-21], Ryker is called upon to reverse a coup in Mali (the book was published a few weeks before a real coup in Mali).  In the latest book, Minute Zero [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SI02ESU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=B00SI02ESU&linkCode=as2&tag=runningforfit-21], Ryker has to handle a political crisis in Zimbabwe. In this episode of Development Drums, Todd talks about his real life experiences in the US State Department, and explains why he uses fiction to explore US foreign policy towards Africa. Full Transcript [https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/DD47-Transcript.pdf]

Episode 46: Morten Jerven

Morten Jerven explains why we know less than we should about what is happening in African economies, and why this is leading economists to the wrong recommendations. His first book, Poor Numbers: How We are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do About It explained the problems with Africa's economic data; an his new book, Africa: Why Economists Get it Wrong sets out how this lack of nuanced understanding of the data has led to flawed analysis and recommendations. "The bottom line", he says, "is that there is no bottom billion".

Episode 46: Morten Jerven

Morten Jerven [http://mortenjerven.com/about-me/] explains why we know less than we should about what is happening in African economies, and why this is leading economists to the wrong recommendations. His first book, Poor Numbers: How We are Misled by African Development Statistics and What to Do About It [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/080147860X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=080147860X&linkCode=as2&tag=runningforfit-21&linkId=I3TGSZ4XPMYAGCPF] explained the problems with Africa’s economic data; an his new book,  Africa: Why Economists Get it Wrong [http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1783601329/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1634&creative=19450&creativeASIN=1783601329&linkCode=as2&tag=runningforfit-21&linkId=ZMUSSRCMRRNUGEGZ][http://ir-uk.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=runningforfit-21&l=as2&o=2&a=1783601329] sets out how this lack of nuanced understanding of the data has led to flawed analysis and recommendations.  “The bottom line”, he says, “is that there is no bottom billion”. Morten Jerven [https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/1365632412893.rendition-medium-1024x661.jpg]https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/1365632412893.rendition-medium.jpgMorten Jerven [http://mortenjerven.com/about-me/] is an Associate Professor at Simon Fraser University. He is an economic historian with a PhD from the London School of Economics. Get the full transcript of Development Drums 46 [https://developmentdrums.org/wp-content/uploads/D46-transcript.pdf].