Who likes pink ladies??

In a recent development with ripe opportunities for rotten puns it appears the WTO are about to overturn a ban on NZ apples into Australia. At present NZ apples are banned from Australia due to the presence of fire blight which is a contagious bacterium that can destroy an orchard and leave it looking burnt.
At present NZ exports apples to 65 nations although it is currently banned from Australia due to customs regulations. For NZ growers it could increase exports between $15-20 million per year.
Check out the link above for more info.

The ban has existed since 1919 and of course local Australian growers are not saying she'll be apples. Are customs regulations necessary or is it a form of protection?

Welcome Year 12 Eco Class

Fellow economists, here is a copy of a blog I posted last year (Thursday, March 19, 2009). It is highly relevant to what we have been studying and the hyperlinks lead to an interview on the ABC.

Is Foreign Aid good for Africa?

On the 17th of March, Foreign Correspondent (yes on the ABC) had an interview with Dambisa Moyo a Zambian-born economist. This is some of the information from the ABC web site.

"In her new book, Dead Aid, she argues that official aid is easy money that fosters corruption and distorts economies, creating a culture of dependency and economic laziness.
Moyo is particularly dismissive of the ‘celebrity aid’ model popularised by international stars such as Bob Geldof and Bono and says many aid organisations and NGOs are more interested in perpetuating poverty in order to justify their own existence."

Interesting thoughts indeed. Moyo is a believer in trade and the power of the market as opposed to the aid model in which she claims the only growth occurring is in the Swiss banks accounts of the political elite.
Lastly she claims that 10 percent of Africans were living in poverty in the 1970s compared to 70 percent now.
What do you think? It would be good to hear some comments via the blog.... (PS this is not a new concept it is new for an African economist to be suggesting it though)