Author Archives: mkevane

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About mkevane

Economist at Santa Clara University and Director of Friends of African Village Libraries.

Panorama des littératures francophones d’Afrique

Du Maghreb à l’Afrique du Sud et du Sénégal à Djibouti, de Léopold Sédar Senghor aux contemporains – Ahmadou Kourouma, Yasmina Khadra, Emmanuel Dongala et bien d’autres –, le Panorama des littératures francophones d’Afrique parcourt la littérature écrite en français … Continue reading

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Librarie universitaire

I dropped off copies of our book Promotion de la Lecture au Burkina Faso at the Librarie universitaire… A nice spot on the center of campus. Mostly just textbooks, but a small section with novels… including a Mongo Beti novel … Continue reading

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Religion and politics in Burkina Faso

An old colleague Magloire Somé and I agreed to meet for dinner, after a panel he was on for the American Political Science Association “study tour”of Burkina Faso…. so I went to the panel. It looked like it might be … Continue reading

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Flash points ahead…. marches planned for Ouagadougou

The CDP is planning a march this Saturday and opposition talking of counter-march… responses to last Saturday’s march against the Senate. Opposition finally found a nice wedge issue… average person has hard time agreeing with fairly lame justifications for Senate, … Continue reading

Posted in Burkina Faso | Comments Off on Flash points ahead…. marches planned for Ouagadougou

Remorse… five variations

Not remorse over what I’ve been reading/viewing lately (with one exception, you guess), but rather, sometimes you find the same theme in very different materials… a straight flush this time, actually. To Have and To Have Not.  Found it on … Continue reading

Posted in Burkina Faso | Comments Off on Remorse… five variations

Évaluation des politiques et institutions nationale: Le Burkina classé parmi les meilleurs en 2012

En effet, la dernière édition du rapport CPIA Country Policy and Institutional Assessment de la Banque mondiale, attribue au Burkina Faso une note globale de 4,28, l’une des plus élevées après celles du Rwanda, du Cap Vert et du Kenya.L’évaluation … Continue reading

Posted in Economy, Politics | Comments Off on Évaluation des politiques et institutions nationale: Le Burkina classé parmi les meilleurs en 2012

Not sure I have the whole picture…

Kerfluffle in Burkina Faso over some stolen, smuggled gold, magistrates demand resignation of Minister of Justice…. (and before you think that 23,000 kg is a lot, remember that in French numbers , is a . so it is 23 kg … Continue reading

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Burkina Faso : le tournant politique de 2015 pourra-t-il avoir lieu ?

A decent piece summarizing current political situation leading up to 2015, which will be a very interesting transition for Burkina Faso.  Pundits and alarmists will have a field day I am sure.  I think the lesson I draw from watching … Continue reading

Posted in Politics | 2 Comments

Research Initiative: Test the Impact of a Radio Campaign Addressing Child Mortality

Very interesting research project. The intervention that this research initiative is exploring is a 2.5-year radio campaign that began broadcasting in March 2012. It involves the broadcast of health messages using radio spots (60-second adverts) and radio phone-in programmes (see … Continue reading

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There is probably an interesting story here: Mayor of Ouagadougou “fires” all the youth employed at quasi-minimum wage ($75 per month) working as traffic guards (they are really helpful)

Pour le président du conseil municipal de la commune de Ouagadougou, c’est un manque de respect et de reconnaissance à l’endroit d’un gouvernement qui a été à l’origine de la mise en œuvre du projet en fin 2010. Si Marin … Continue reading

Posted in Economy | Comments Off on There is probably an interesting story here: Mayor of Ouagadougou “fires” all the youth employed at quasi-minimum wage ($75 per month) working as traffic guards (they are really helpful)

Smackdown time… ouchie!

I think you have to be a development economist with a 15 year old indeed to appreciate this line which made me burst out laughing two minutes ago (11:25 pm Ouagadougou time) while we house-sit at unnamed European embassy staffer … Continue reading

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Hard to criticise without seeming a spoilsport…

I wish them luck, but nothing on the website suggests they really have any idea what they are doing other than doing something “cool”…  They claim their “digital library” will be profitable… yet the turnover in cybercafe’s (isn’t that what … Continue reading

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Friends in high places…. Matthiasson wines in Napa

What a great plug for Jill and Steve, who deserve it! Matthiasson is another example of the antithesis of Napa Valley’s glamorous side. Steve and Jill Klein Matthiasson are farmers, essentially — he is a leading vineyard consultant — and … Continue reading

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100 million dollars – upcoming Obama trip to Africa

I always like to do the basic math.  We (FAVL) set up village libraries for about $15,000 and that covers about five years of operations until the office of the mayor can take over.  Let’s say there is no book … Continue reading

Posted in Development thinking, General | 1 Comment

Sahel climate change alarmism

I got in a good Twitter back and forth with Michael Boyce of Refugees International…. what is right characterization of livelihood change in Sahel… @MP_Boyce Compare rainfall/temp dist 1960-90 http://tinyurl.com/jw9bz7x  with 1990-09. Basically the same, no? #Sahel more complx than … Continue reading

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Le Roi du Djadjo de Bali Nebie

Over the past week I read Le Roi du Djadjo by Bali Nebie.  I met Bali in February, when Jean-Pierre Jacob, the anthropologist, suggested we have a beer with him.  Jean-Pierre had found his book in the FAVL library we … Continue reading

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From Sudan: I Almost Got Arrested For Wearing Pants | Blog #45

The rickshaw dropped us off by the office. Across the street, a large truck was parked, with two police officers standing beside it, talking to a young woman dressed not unlike myself; Jeans, white round-neck top, black cardigan. While one … Continue reading

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David Kpelly, fantastic blogger….

Mais c’est la forme de la déclaration qui choque. Il est quand un peu aberrant de voir un ministre d’un grand, vaste et vieux pays comme le Mali qui depuis plus de cinquante ans maintenant crie sa souveraineté, aller s’arrêter … Continue reading

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What has happened to heights of women in Africa over post-colonial period?

One of those questions that is relevant and interesting.  Akachi and Canning use the DHS surveys and trace how birth cohorts have attained different height.  Interestingly, in the simple time trend heights are steady (on average just under 160 cm … Continue reading

Posted in Development thinking | Comments Off on What has happened to heights of women in Africa over post-colonial period?

Encore des voitures de $100,000?

Vraiment je ne comprends pas la Banque Mondiale…Peut-être le car de transport ca se vend a $100,000, mais des 4×4?  Et plus généralement, si le secteur minier et “porteur” pour le gouvernement, pourquoi la Banque ne refuse d’octroyer des crédits … Continue reading

Posted in Economy | Comments Off on Encore des voitures de $100,000?