21–30 of 72 posts
This is (in part) an example of how that thinking breaks down as that assumption breaks down.
If enough people cannot have private property, can the market function as desired by those who believe in it?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The problem I suspect is that the local banking system isn’t super great, needing enough money to buy a smart phone in order to accept payment seems risky.
M-Pesa doesn't need smartphones. Most farmers probably are already using dumb feature phones.
But does it require a bank account (which was my main concern)? Per http://www.afd.fr/en/developing-mobile-banking-madagascar only 5% of Malagasy had access to a bank account in 2014.
This is a super neat article. I do wonder if some of the big asset purchases (the motorbike example) are also to act as a non-bank money store? Much easier to lock up a bike than a pile of money, etc.
This makes a lot of sense and seems obvious, actually. I'm surprised the author didn't make that connection, especially while pointing out that sometimes the fancy motorbike would be owned by an old Grandpa who had no intention of riding it, and rather spent all day polishing it (that is, trying to mitigate depreciation).
I think the entire thing was interesting and could have stood on its own, but maybe that conceit provided a thread to tie the article together?
Also, in response to the M-Pesa comment, I did a quick googling, and it looks like as of 2014 only 5% of Malagasy had a bank account at all.
It actually makes tons of sense to invest in non-cash goods to trade later when there's a bust. But no matter what form your profits are in, the big risk in Madagascar (besides the cyclones) seems to be the gangs. Drivers regularly get murdered driving across territories controlled by gangs. There's really not much law enforcement to speak of and the country is insanely poor, considering all this vanilla commerce. Th…
How will that help if the problem is gangs?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
M-Pesa doesn't need smartphones. Most farmers probably are already using dumb feature phones.
Neat! But does it require a bank account (which was my main concern)? Per http://www.afd.fr/en/developing-mobile-banking-madagascar only 5% of Malagasy had access to a bank account in 2014.
A lot of libertarian and capitalist faith in the market relies on individuals having the capacity for "private property". This is (in part) an example of how that thinking breaks down as that assumption breaks down. If enough people cannot have private property, can the market function as desired by those who believe in it?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm actually surprised by how good the wood pulp version tastes. Unless I'm buying straight up vanilla ice cream, I don't mind the wood pulp version of vanilla at all. If it's vanilla with stuff mixed into it, I won't really be able to tell the difference.
I bought a bottle of synthetic and a bottle of organic real vanilla extract recently, and did a taste/smell test. The synthetic smelled and tasted like vanilla-flavored motor oil and rubbing alcohol. It was terrible, and cheap, and plentiful. I can't imagine what I could use it in to mask that chemical flavor. Ugh.
To me this means vanilla prices are being manipulated. If the farmers themself are not demanding so much money, then who is? Someone is artificially restricting supply, or inflating prices. Wonder how long it will go on before it crashes....