Posts

Foreign Aid and Foreign Debt

Angola has grown significantly since the turn of the decade, largely due to their export of oil which constitutes more than 70% of government revenue. With Angola making these strides, they have also taken on a ton of debt each year. For instance, since 2010 Angola's external debt has increased by $29,725.17 million, from $17,828.63 million to $47,553.8 million [1].  The reason Angola is rapidly increasing debt is that they are using billions of dollars from China, Portugal, Spain, Germany and the EU to rebuild infrastructure that was destroyed during Angola's 27 year civil war that finally ended in 2002. This is part of the reason that they are in so much debt; they are rebuilding their economy based on credit[2]. On the plus side, lenders know that the money being invested into Angola is actually going to a good cause that contributes to economic development. Hopefully their infrastructure will be sustainable so that they can repay the countries that helped them. In terms of ...

Angola- Trade & Development

Angola Trade & Development            With trade representing over 50% of Angola's GDP[1], it is safe to say that any changes in trade will have a profound effect on Angola's domestic economy. It will be important for Angola to maintain trade relationships and reduce barriers as much as it can for its economy to grow. With that in mind, Angola is largely dependent on the exports of natural recourses which means that producers must keep a close eye on foreign politics that could potentially influence the price of a good. An excellent case of this occurring is with oil. Oil accounts for an astounding 95% of Angola's exports,   and with such a volatile good, a large percentage of their economy can be punished for a political situation of which they aren't even a part of[2]. For instance, US-China tariffs may halt each country's demand for crude oil which ends up damaging Angola's exports to each of these countries, which both happen to be larg...

Healthcare's Contribution to Angola's Economic Growth and Development

Francesco Argentina James Quillin IB Economics  February 4, 2020 How does Healthcare & Education affect Economic Development and Growth in Angola? This essay will explain how the domestic factor of healthcare affects the economic growth and development of Angola. Angola has healthcare in both the public and private sector of their economy giving citizens access to free healthcare if they need it, but also the chance to have better quality care if they can afford it. Even though Angola’s healthcare may be free, it is considered very low quality according to Allianz Care[1]. The public healthcare system is incredibly underfunded and often times can not efficiently treat the prevalent health hazards of Angola such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and neonatal disorders. Even if you are wealthy enough to afford private care, more often than not a person will travel to nearby South Africa or Nambia to receive complicated procedures. This is incredibly detrimental to economic growt...

Angola Development Progress

For my blog, the country that I have decided to assess is Angola. The first goal I will be assessing is no poverty. I remember from the economics article we read in class that Africa already holds over 70% of global poverty and I was inclined to see how Angola's poverty rate compared. According to world bank data from 2008(most recent), Angola's poverty rate is 36% (World Bank). The next sustainable development goal is quality education. The way I found out was through the CIA database based on Education expenditures compared to the public expenditure on education as a percent of GDP. Angola was 3.4% in 2010 which ranks 124 in the world (Central Intelligence Agency). The next Goal of Sustainable Development is Good Work and Economic Growth. According to the Doing Business Report, Angola's GDP growth rate is low at only 1.2% in 2018. This is likely due to low oil prices which constitute around 90% of the nation's exports (World Bank). The next goal is health and well-be...