The Needs of Pakistan

The tragedy unfolding in Pakistan is mind boggling.   Robert Reich discusses why you should be concerned about it:

Flooding there has already stranded 20 million people, more than 10 percent of the population. A fifth of the nation is underwater. More than 3.5 million children are in imminent danger of contracting cholera and acute diarrhea; millions more are in danger of starving if they don’t get help soon. More than 1,500 have already been killed by the floods.

This is a human disaster. It’s also a frightening opening for the Taliban.

 Laura Freschi suggests ways one can help.

Haiti

In 1995 I went to Haiti to help build a school. It was a great experience for me on many levels. Among other things, it created a lot of questions for me about economic development. It also reminded me of the years I spent living in Africa as a child. This current tragedy in Haiti has brought back many of the memories and questions from that trip. Given my background, it has been especially interesting to read the many commentaries on Haiti's problems. While there are many pieces I could mention I want to take note of Daniel Erikson's article in Foreign Policy titled The Ghosts of Port-au_Prince. Daniel manages the Haiti project for the Inter-American Dialogue. Tyler Cowen has also had some interesting insights on Haiti and recommends we contact the White House to grant Haiti Temporary Protected Status. For those who are interested in donating, Daniel Drezner provides links to organizations on the ground in Haiti.

Update: Two blogs worth following on Haiti and on economic development in general are Chris Blattman's blog Research, International Development, Foreign Policy, and Violent Conflict and William Easterly's blog Aid Watch.

There is Hope for Zimbabwe

Time to find a new poster child for hyperfinflation. Zimbabwe's economy seems to have turned the corner by (1) allowing foreign currency to be used in transactions and (2) abandoning any further production of Zimbabwe dollars. Here is one news report:

HARARE (AFP) — A man whistles as he picks groceries from the shelves of a supermarket in Zimbabwe's capital. Another shopper, spoilt for choice, compares cooking oil bottles while queues form at the tills.

In Zimbabwe, these were simple and almost forgotten luxuries.

For more than a year, supermarket shelves were bare and shops resembled empty warehouses as the country reeled under an economic crisis that turned sugar and the staple corn meal into rare commodities.

Now shops are stocking up again, after the government in January agreed to allow retailers to conduct business in foreign currency.

The government has even stopped printing Zimbabwe dollars, which it once churned out in trillion-dollar denominations that quickly became worthless under inflation that independent economists estimated in the quadrillions.

The switch to foreign currency has already started bringing prices down in US dollar terms, according to official statistics which are being borne out at the till.

The BBC also notes that prices are now falling in Zimbabwe and further claims the following:

The US dollar was adopted by Zimbabwe's government following the inauguration of the unity government between the MDC and President Mugabe's Zanu-PF.

So Zimbabwe has dollarized. This is certainly an improvement in policy, but why not adopt the South African Rand? The economies of South Africa and Zimbabwe surely are closely to an optimal currency area than the U.S. and Zimbabwe. Does Zimbabwe really want to import U.S. monetary policy? With all that said, this is good start for Zimbabwe.