China's attitude towards Africa was apparent in a slogan at a summit on Africa in Beijing. Photo: stephenrwalli (flickr)

Deborah Brautigan doesn't argue with critics who call China's interest in Africa self-serving. But she may be one of the first American academics to declare that China's deeds will be good for Africa, too.

It's an argument she expands in The Dragon's Gift, a new book analyzing the development of China's Africa policies over the last few decades.

Brautigan asserts that China's investments are integrating African countries into the global economy more quickly because, unlike Western countries, the nation invests in an array of industries. In Angola, for example, China has built roads, schools, hospitals, and irrigation systems in the country's interior — even though its oil wealth is far offshore. Brautigan also cites a telling remark by a Nigerian diplomat: "The Chinese are trying to get involved in every sector of our economy. If you look at the West, it's oil, oil, oil and nothing else."

And on a continent rife with corruption, China's style of development actually leaves less room for embezzlement than does the World Bank model, points out a book review in The Morning Star. Rather than funneling money through potentially corrupt government officials, China pays Chinese companies to head up infrastructure projects.

Brautigan acknowledges that China's behavior in Africa is sometimes far from saintly. Some have complained that Chinese companies do not respect local labor laws, as happened at a mine in Congo, and others worry that Chinese companies will have a negative environmental impact on the continent.

While not negligible, Brautigan sees these violations as small in comparison to what China's investments could mean for Africa, and in comparison to the failed promise of other foreign aid there. As an AidWatchers review noted, this "book seeks to compare Chinese aid to Western aid as it really is, not as we wish it were."

African roads don't always facilitate the fast flow of goods. Photo: Humanitarian and Development Partnership Team in the Central African Republic (flickr)

Did you know that it costs more to ship a ton of wheat from Kenya to neighboring Uganda than it does to ship it across the Atlantic?

According to the Economist, the way in which trade is conducted in Africa is pretty much the same as it was during Colonial times. Bribes, roadblocks, military checkpoints, malarial fevers, broken-down roads and transportation parts and extra-long waiting times are just a few of the continent's trade problems.

Leading the way in constructing "transcontinental logistics networks" is Bolloré Africa Logistics, led by Vincent Bolloré, says the magazine. Bolloré says there's more to gain than just increasing profits.

[Bolloré] believes better logistics are vital to reduce poverty in Africa. A new warehouse for perishable goods, or a new garage for repairing overland lorries, he reckons, create more lasting benefits to Africans than most aid projects do.

Photo: Peter Casier(flickr)

This summer, multiple regions of the globe have been hit by water-related disasters, ranging from bone-dry droughts to devastating floods. An international group of water experts is warning of severe social and economic consequences unless significant investments in infrastructure such as irrigation systems and dams.

Speakers at the World Water Congress in Vienna told attendees that infrastructure has to more than double from $80 billion to $180 billion to keep pace with the effects of population growth and climate changes.

According to the World Bank, the major water challenges we face include lack of access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation, water scarcity and extreme weather events resulting from climate change. It is estimated that four billion people will be affected by these challenges in the near future, especially in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.

Without sustained investment in water infrastructure like irrigation systems and dams, the results could be dire, especially for developing countries. This summer’s news headlines are further evidence. Haiti and other Caribbean countries are reeling from four back-to-back hurricanes, the flooding in Bihar, India is the worst in 50 years, and countries from Australia to Ethiopia are experiencing record droughts.

With the effects of water challenges accelerating so rapidly, it remains to be seen whether world leaders will have the foresight to effectively address these problems preventatively, or be stuck playing catch up — with deadly results.

Mexico City. Photo: Yetto (flickr)

Are the southern states of Mexico – Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca – getting left out of Mexico's economic growth?

An April 24 article in the Economist suggests that there is a growing socio-economic gap between these three southern states and the rest of Mexico. In 2000, Mexico’s GDP per capita was $7,495, compared to a combined average of $3,634 for Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, according to a World Bank report. Furthermore, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty – less than $1 a day – was 54-56 percent in the south, compared to 23-25 percent nationwide.

Recently, the government has proposed using large-scale infrastructure projects to address this economic disparity.

In 2001, then-President Vicente Fox released his Plan Puebla Panamá, a project to link southern Mexico and Central America with northern Mexico. It primarily provides funding for building highways and new air and sea ports.

More recently, current President Felipe Calderón announced plans for a six-year, $28.7-billion road investment project. A significant part of the plan focuses on southern coastal regions.

Critics argue that investing in infrastructure isn’t enough to promote economic growth in the south. José Antonio Aguilar, a government official from the state of Puebla (another southern state), tells The Economist that they have experienced “a total transformation” in state infrastructure "but we haven’t been able to turn this into growth in income." Likewise, Miguel Pickard for CorpWatch.org worries that these top-down approaches tend to overlook Mexico’s poor.

To what extent will these ambitious infrastructure projects close Mexico's north-south poverty gap?