Ken Opalo

the USA built a system of higher education so good that smart/rich people from across the world came here, spending billions to learn here, subsidizing education for Americans while spending money to live in our cities and towns. our government arbitrarily decided we should stop doing that

Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after weak jobs report The president implied that the BLS commissioner, longtime federal employee Erika McEntarfer, manipulated the data "for political purposes."

Well, if only the United States of America had Strong Western Institutions.

Trump fires labor statistics boss hours after weak jobs report: www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...

the path to solving hunger, disease and poverty is subscribing to my substack and writing me lots of nice comments about how great I am

a deep exploration of urbanization and spatial unevenness in economic development, in the context of Kenya

distance from the colonial railway line still correlates with deep inequalities, while urbanisation has not necessarily improved lives

Some thoughts on the sorts of policies that produced this map: kenopalo.substack.com/p/a-historic...

Lolz.

There will come a day when everyone will have always been against this.

Crazy coincidence how often [thing that will fix science of all of its ailments] coincides with [thing the speaker considers themselves an expert in]. Makes you think

How Kenya’s opposition can defeat President William Ruto in 2027 In order to win in 2027 the opposition has to be bigger than the sum of its regional components; and engineer a wave election

We always assume that politicians optimize their chances of staying in office. But it’s also true that politicians can be bad at politics.

This is the underlying theme of my take on the Kenyan opposition’s chances in 2027: kenopalo.substack.com/p/how-kenyas...

It’s cute seeing Americans debate whether the son of an Ugandan is Ugandan.

Don’t they realize the ridiculousness of it all?

Global Climate Policy Must Take Local Politics Into Account Top-down approaches to addressing climate change ignore a fundamental reality: Success will hinge on a sound understanding of local politics.

Global Climate Policy Must Take Local Politics Into Account www.worldpoliticsreview.com/climate-chan...

Global Climate Policy Must Take Local Politics Into Account Top-down approaches to addressing climate change ignore a fundamental reality: Success will hinge on a sound understanding of local politics.

"To tackle the climate crisis, we cannot afford to pit climate action against development. To the contrary, climate policies in low-income countries must be—and must be seen as—developmentalist. ... Poverty is not a viable climate strategy."

Great piece by @kopalo.bsky.social.

There’s an old West African meme for what you are expressing here…

On the Kenyan economy under William Ruto’s presidency Still muddling through despite the government’s best efforts

On the Kenyan economy under William Ruto’s presidency
www.africanistperspective.com/p/on-the-ken...

the 8 a.m. Sunday conference panel

we devised a test to see if American libertarians exist

Ummm…, it’s right there in the name of the collection!

If only the United States of America had Strong Western Institutions.

How should development practice (and institutions) approach the coming reforms in the aid sector? The past is gone. And there are lots of reasons not to mourn for its reinstatement.

How should development practice (and institutions) approach the coming reforms in the aid sector? www.africanistperspective.com/p/how-should...

You are just not singing the right songs during the process, Femi.*

*The right songs will vary randomly depending on time of day. Songs will almost never work.

History of energy transitions.

(source: Critical Minerals Journal) 

A great Kenyan has rested. RIP.

The problem of organizing weak states; and why Africa needs a new model of Pan-Africanism Africa’s regional hegemons must step up in the management of Continental affairs; doing so would not necessarily violate the spirit of Pan-Africanism.

Happy Africa Day!

The problem of organizing weak states; and why Africa needs a new model of Pan-Africanism

www.africanistperspective.com/p/the-proble...

Sleep when the baby sleeps. Do email when the baby does email…

Lolz. These little things do have a habit of bringing with them loads of perspective.

Also, huge Congratulations to you guys!!!

Trying to figure out why policymakers did what they did is fun.

What does the rise and decline of STEM enrollment in Kenyan universities tell us about the Kenyan economy? A pitch on how to increase STEM enrollment (and fix higher education in Kenya)

What does the rise and decline of STEM enrollment in Kenyan universities tell us about the Kenyan economy?
www.africanistperspective.com/p/what-does-...

A large share of the populations without access to electricity across Africa actually live in or around urban areas (within an hour) — Source: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

How to (more reliably) electrify Africa for economic growth and development Deepening energy access must be complemented by an aggressive pro-growth agenda; with sufficient attention to economic and political incentives

How to reliably electrify African countries for growth and development: open.substack.com/pub/kenopalo...