In a 2 November New York Times story, it reported that the Malawi is the latest African country where people are suffering from hunger, read the whole story here.
Malawi is not the only one. Indeed many countries in Africa, ranging from Niger to Zimbabwe, share the same fate as Malawi of late. The question is why?
It turns out that there is one and only one reason that explains the plight of African people in those countries. The governments in those countries, instead of helping their people to get rich through protecting private property rights, are instead stealing from them.
So by practicing socialism, Zambia reduced its economy to penury. Zimbabwe's economy collapsed after the government seized its richest farms, which were owned by whites. And as far as Niger is concerned, regulatory burden strangled its economy. As an example of the regulatory burden in Niger, Nicholas Kristof of the NYT has written back in October that " local regulations stipulate that companies must give all employees six weeks and two days of paid vacation a year. Not surprisingly, there are almost no employers in Niger." Read the whole thing here. (Subscription required)
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