''Rule of law'' is the generally accepted description for how well a political system conforms to formal rules - rather than functioning through the whims of the most powerful social or political agents. For a society to be described as one functioning under rule of law - there must be rules and those rules must be equally applied to everyone in the society. Let us call this Letter of the Law. These rules are usually expressed through the constitution of a country and enforced through the...

I had a great conversation with David Roodman - researcher and senior adviser at Open Philanthropy. He played an important role in helping us understand and interpret the evidence on the microfinance phenomenon that was sweeping through the development community a little while back. We also talked about his work in evaluating foreign aid, how his background in mathematics has helped him throughout his career, and why he writes so well. The transcript for this episode is available for paid...

Listen now (52 min) | A Conversation with Nathan Lane This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at www.ideasuntrapped.com/subscribe

Many low-income countries confront the challenge of transforming from an agrarian or resource-based economy to an industrial economy. We can see this in how countries struggle to diversify their exports and sources of public revenues. Nurturing a policy environment for economic transformation - despite the abundance of literature and example for the recent East Asian experience - is often the hardest part of the challenge. Joining me on today's episode to explore this and many more is...

Welcome to another episode of Ideas Untrapped podcast, where we discuss ideas that promote progress, prosperity, and economic development. We do this by speaking to academics, industry experts, and other creative social thinkers. My guest on this episode is Robert Frank, professor of economics at Cornell University, New York. Robert is my favourite economist because he presents complex ideas in simple intuitive details. His works straddle the nexus of economics, psychology, and biosocial...

I spoke to macroeconomic analyst Karthik Sankaran about many of his brilliant insights on economic development process. Karthik long and broad experience working on emerging markets shines through our entire conversation. His gift of wit and summarizing complex economic into understandable bits is one of the best I have encountered - as you can tell from his Twitter feed and blog. You can listen directly on this page or through any of the links here. You can also listen to a longer version...

It was enlightening as expected to talk to Harvard professor of economic development Ricardo Hausmann. He has a refreshing take on all of my questions - and I believe he is one of the most important thinkers on development ever. You can check out some of his work for Harvard’s CID Growth Lab (where he is the Director) here - you can also find many of his lectures on Youtube. You can listen and download directly on the website here - or simply search for the podcast on any of your preferred...

I spoke to Decision Scientist Oliver Beige on some of the things experts got wrong about the Covid-19 infection pattern, and the policy response. We talked about those exponential predictions that were popular at the height of the pandemic, the things Japan got right, Sweden, and how society and policymakers should evaluate expert knowledge. Get full access to Ideas Untrapped at ideasuntrapped.substack.com/subscribe

The second part of my conversation with Andrew Nevin. We talked about the economic development patterns of India vs China's - and what Nigeria can learn. We also talked about his habits during the lockdown, Amartya Sen, and the habits of mind that shaped him growing up. Get full access to Ideas Untrapped at ideasuntrapped.substack.com/subscribe

Andrew Nevin - who is the chief economist of PwC West Africa - returns to the show for a record third time. I spoke to him about some of the big trends that will matter now and into the future. He provided excellent insights on the socioeconomic implications of population growth and decline, climate change, technology, and why we will need a more robust measurement of human well-being beyond GDP. You can support the show (and our mission to spread good ideas) through this page - you can do...

I had an interesting conversation with investor Andrew Alli. We spoke about how investors price risks, power sector reforms, and his views on the clamour for political “restructuring” in Nigeria. Andrew is a Development Finance veteran and in my opinion, he is still underrated as a public intellectual. Listening options away from the website are all here. You should also subscribe and rate us on any of your preferred platforms. Get full access to Ideas Untrapped at...

I learned a lot having this conversation with economic historian Mark Koyama. State Capacity has become an important concept to be understood - especially with the current economic and security problems Nigeria is currently dealing with. A lot of us are also reeling from the consequences of the decisions our governments made in responding to the global pandemic. My conversation with Mark was a bit “wonkish”, so listeners unfamiliar with some of the things we discussed can read the links...

Investigative journalist David Hundeyin found himself having to flee the country recently because his reporting has rubbed some powerful people the wrong way. In this conversation, I started by asking him how Nigeria’s promising democratic evolution ended up at this point. We also talked about former President Goodluck Jonathan’s public relations problem, his "beef" with the non-profit Feminist Coalition that came to prominence during the nationwide protest against police brutality, and other...

It is quite common to hear people imply that any government that fixes Nigeria's electricity problem will enter the nation's pantheon of sainthood. But even the promise of immortality has not been enough for any meaningful change in the sector. I sat down with Timi Soleye - who is an industry player and insider (he is the President of CRYO Gas and Director of Power at Raven Energy) - for an extended chat on the issues facing the sector. Timi's take ended up being an extended commentary on the...

I had a conversation with former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, and it was worth every minute. He explained why the CBN has taken the role it has on economic policy (and how he thinks it has overstepped), the lack of state capacity in Nigeria - and why we need a philosophical basis for governance. I also asked him about his plans for the 2023 elections, what he thinks about the next 60 years of Nigeria, and his alternative vision for the country....

In the first of a series of end of season episodes - host Tobi Lawson talks to Prof Pat Utomi about the state of Nigeria, and how it all went wrong. You can listen on your preferred platform here, or from the player on the website. You can also rate us on any of the platforms or here - this helps others find the show. Get full access to Ideas Untrapped at www.ideasuntrapped.com/subscribe

It has been a little over a year since we started the podcast. Host and curator of the show Tobi Lawson is a guest on this episode - to talk about the philosophy behind the project and his opinions on many of the issues the show has discussed. You can rate us here. If you want to support our efforts in bringing you the thoughts of brilliant thinkers through these conversations, you can be a patron here. What our guests and listeners are saying… “Thank you so much…for doing this whole...

Here is the second part of my episode with Chris Ogunmodede. We continued the discussion on Nigeria’s political economy. We touched on institutional memory in the legislature and why we need a stronger civil society. Chris is insightful as always. You can rate us here. If you want to support our efforts in bringing you the thoughts of brilliant thinkers through these conversations, you can be a patron here. TRANSCRIPT TL: This is Ideas Untrapped and my guest today is Chris Olaoluwa...

I have long admired the thoughts of foreign policy analyst Chris Ogunmodede through his Twitter feed, and it was a pleasure having this conversation with him. Our jump-off point was the tragic fallout from the EndSars protests. Chris’ knowledge and grasp of the core issues ensured he had deep insights on all my questions. (P.S he had some fun bashing economists). You can rate us here. If you want to support our efforts in bringing you the thoughts of brilliant thinkers through these...

I had a conversation with Efosa Ojomo of the Clay Christensen Institute. He is the co-author of the book The Prosperity Paradox - along with Karen Dillon and the late Harvard management guru Clayton Christensen. The central argument of the book is that economic development happens when businesses innovate by creating a previously non-existent market. The book has been largely shunned by development scholars and this is where I started my conversation with Efosa. I also go through some other...

I spoke to urban planning scholar Taibat Lawanson about most things Lagos city. We discussed housing, overpopulation, infrastructure, and the many problems that have made Lagos hard to live. She described Lagos as a ''complex city'' - and she is a sceptic of developments like Eko Atlantic city. TL: This is Ideas Untrapped, my guest today is Dr Taibat Lawanson who is a professor of urban planning at [the] University of Lagos. You're welcome. TL: Thank you. TL: The first question I'll...

I had a conversation with Elizabeth Omotunde, Emmanuel Era, and Ronke Bankole on the ongoing protest against police brutality in Nigeria. We thought out loud mostly on police reforms, what the legacy of the protests might be, and the complicated morass of the Nigerian bureaucracy. Many thanks to my guests for finding the time to offer their thoughts. Like I have reiterated multiple times, this is the moment for the political leadership of the country to use this example to tackle some of the...

Trade economist Meredith Startz and I talked about her research on the information costs of trade. We discussed the strategies that traders use to lower costs associated with search (ensuring they get their goods to the market on time) and moral hazard costs (ensuring they get what exactly was ordered from their suppliers). We talked about how big businesses use fixed cost strategies to lower costs, the benefits of higher revenue for firms, and how innovative business models can improve...

I had a very interesting conversation Shelby Grossman - political scientist at Stanford University. We talked about her research on informal trade in Lagos, and what we can learn generally about how institutions form from her findings. You can read this essay for a general background and explanation on what Shelby and I discussed on this episode. Download and other listening options are here - and you can kindly give us a rating here. Transcript TL: Today, I am on with Shelby Grossman....