We Simply Know Nothing About African Economies

David Pilling, FT
Part of the problem is underfunding. When Mr Kale took up the job, he had a budget of m, now increased to m. Mr Jerven recalls visiting the Central Statistical Office in Lusaka only to find a crop survey delayed because vehicles were not roadworthy. In 2010, he writes, Zambia’s national accounts were being prepared by a single soul. Even if there were sufficient people to measure it, much economic activity is almost invisible. Neither subsistence farmers, hawkers, itinerant labourers, pickpockets nor prostitutes are likely to be taxed. None will appear, in any meaningful way, in...