Why are Poor Countries Poor?

Some countries have laws and legal practices that aren't in the interests of the nation, but rather in the interest of the ruling elite and their corrupt officials. The World Bank maintains a ranking of the difficulties in starting up a business, registering property and dealing with licenses among a large selection of countries.

The worst country, on the 175th place, is the Democratic Republic of Congo. On the 152th place you find Cameroon. Tim Hartford (2006) in The Undercover Economist quotes a conversation with a local:

'Don't people complain about the roads?'
'They complain, but nothing is done. The government tells us there is no money. But there is plenty of money coming from the World Bank and from France and Britain and America - but they put it in their pockets. They do not spend it on the roads'
'Are there elections in Cameroon?'
'Yes! There are elections. President Biya is always re-elected with a 90-per-cent majority'
'Do 90 per cent of people vote for President Biya?'
'No, they do not. He is very unpopular. But still there is a 90-per-cent majority'

Links: World Bank, Book

Flight Tickets: A Comprehensive Search

When looking for flight tickets I've had to look through individual airline websites, specially the no-frills category, since the ticket search aggregators often seem to exclude them. Except for this one: Momondo.com.

Sci-fi Book with a Radical Vision

Charles Stross wrote Accelerando in 2005 and was shortlisted for a Hugo Award, among others. The novel is great for anybody who likes to think about the future. How will computers, businesses and humans interact?

Download the novel. It's free and it's incredibly interesting.

Link

Financial Astrology

Isn't it obvious that planets affect companies at least as much as they do people?

Link (Thanks, Thomas)

Video: Diffusion of Walmart

Fascinating visualization of the time-spatial diffusion of Walmart stores in USA.

Link (Thanks, Andreas)