Piles of cash and a town of solutions in Kenya, Nigeria (Summer School)
Summary
This episode explores economic innovations in Africa, featuring MIT professor Tavneet Suri. It details Nigeria’s U-Win program, which used randomized cash grants to help small businesses grow, and Kenya’s Busia town, a hub for Nobel-winning randomized control trials in development economics. The discussion highlights how these experiments inform global policy on poverty, education, and entrepreneurship.
Topics discussed
Introduction to Planet Money Summer School and Nigeria's economic potential
The challenge of financing small businesses in Nigeria
Lariat Al-Hasan's story and the U-Win lottery program
Analysis of U-Win's effectiveness and impact on jobs
The 'missing middle' of businesses and barriers to growth
Introduction to Busia, Kenya, and the rise of randomized trials
The textbook study and the insight on remedial education
Busia as a global lab for development economics and Nobel winners
Discussion on human capital, spillovers, and policy implementation
Review of key concepts and preview of next episode in Norway
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