Botswana vs. America (Economics NOT Soccer)

Botswana vs. America
By Rick Kelo
Last week I wrote entitled “What Capitalism Did to Botswana” where we looked at the growth of free-market Botswana against the stagnation of its neighbor: Marxist Zimbabwe.
Today let’s bring it home: Botswana vs. America!! Specifically let’s compare free trading, nearly laissez-faire Botswana to heavily interventionist Detroit.
- In 1960 Detroit was the #1 richest city in America. In 1961 it came under 1 party rule by the Democratic party.
- Detroit has stuggled under countless economic interventions: high taxes, union favortism, cronyism / favortism toward its couple biggest businesses, etc.
- Detroit is already in America, the most heavily regulated nation on earth, but piles mountains of additional legislation & regulation on top of that.
Botswana does precisely the opposite. It has nearly unregulated laissez-faire capitalism and nearly total free trade.
Results?
INFANT MORTALITY
PER CAPITA INCOME
UNEMPLOYMENT
- Detroit: 18.04% (Source)
- Botswana: 17.8% (Source)
- (Note: most recent year I could find was 2012 for Botswana, so both are 2012).
DEBT TO GDP
Ceteris Paribus
Economics from the Austrian & Monetarist traditions; political philosophy from the Classic Liberal tradition
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Rick Kelo July 8, 2014 , 10:14 am
Botswana has also been growing at 6% – 10% / year… for the last 40 years. Detroit…. not so much.
Zain D July 8, 2014 , 10:39 am
What surprises me is Botswana’s relatively low population of just over 2 million. I wonder why individuals from the surrounding countries haven’t flocked across the border. Rick, do you know much about the Botswana government’s immigration policies?