The Economist (June 29)
“Over the past few weeks, in one country after another, protesters have risen up with bewildering speed. They have been more active in democracies than dictatorships. They tend to be ordinary, middle-class people, not lobbies with lists of demands. Their mix of revelry and rage condemns the corruption, inefficiency and arrogance of the folk in charge.” Whether it’s Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Bulgaria, India or elsewhere, politicians should beware.
Tags: Brazil, Bulgaria, Corruption, Democracies, Dictatorships, India, Inefficiency, Middle class, Politicians, Protesters, Rage, Revelry, Sweden, Turkey
Euromoney (March Issue)
“Investors are probably being too bullish about the size and buying power of Africa’s middle class.” Following a 2011 African Development Bank (ADB) report which pegged the middle class at 313 million, “it has become commonplace to hear wonderful things about the rise of Africa’s middle class.” The ADB’s figure, however, is misleading as it includes individuals making between $2-5 per day. Using a more conservative definition of those making $10-20 per day, Africa’s middle class would probably number less than a quarter of the ADB’s estimate. “Africa has vast potential, but investor sentiment today is pricing in a level of progress towards it that is not yet backed up by facts.”
Tags: ADB, Africa, Investors, Middle class, Misleading, Potential, Sentiment
Economist (June 23)
On July 1, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) turns 90. Despite this milestone, the CCP’s future looks uncertain. “The inevitable slowing in economic growth,” will strain relations between the middle-class and the CCP. Moreover, “tensions between China’s prosperous middle classes and its poor will make it a harder country to govern.” The CCP may feel forced to repress an increasingly restive middle class, further worsening relations. “In other Asian countries a taste for democracy has risen with income; and repression would mean withdrawing freedoms from people used to their liberty gradually increasing.” The CCP is in for a bumpy ride. The next 90 are far from assured.
Tags: CCP, China, Economic growth, Middle class, Tension
