Africa ... Next China?

03-07-2013 • The Daily Bell

Its economy is flourishing. Most countries are at peace. Ever fewer children bear arms and record numbers go to school. Mobile phones are as ubiquitous as they are in India and, in the worst-affected countries, HIV infections have fallen by up to three-quarters. Life expectancy rose by a tenth in the past decade and foreign direct investment has tripled. Consumer spending will almost double in the next ten years; the number of countries with average incomes above $1,000 per person a year will grow from less than half of Africa's 55 states to three-quarters. − The Economist

Dominant Social Theme: This is one helluva continent. It has incredible promise and capitalism is going to save it.

Free-Market Analysis: We've written about this emerging trend before but it is such a startling one and contains such great import that it is worth noting again, and perhaps on a regular basis. This Economist article from our point of view is no accident. It conforms to other similar articles that are making the same point regularly.

Africa is a chosen continent. It has been chosen much as Japan and then China were chosen, to be the recipient of US debt and dollars. Much as the Japanese and Chinese governments agreed to buy US debt in return for US consumer purchases, so it seems to be Africa's turn.