Thread by @Noahpinion

Today's @bopinion post is about why Africa is the future, and why China is smart to invest in that future, and why the West should follow suit.

bloomberg.com/view/articles/…

Why is Africa the future?

Simple: Because that's where all the people will be!

Of course, Africa is showing many other positive trends as well.

Better health.

Better education.

Better governance.

All of these things make it a lot easier and more lucrative to invest there!

China appears to have this figured out.

Instead of trying to compete with China in terms of African investment, some Westerners have chosen to wring their hands and warn that Chinese investment is a new form of colonialism.

But while Chinese investment can sometimes be predatory, the colonialism analogy is very wrong.

Colonialism is about exploitation of natural resources.

Lots of Chinese investment in Africa is about the people, not the resources.

Foreign investment in manufacturing, services, and infrastructure is a win-win for Africa and China in the short term...

...and I believe it will be an even bigger win-win in the long term.

So the West should invest more in Africa - not in resource extraction, but in manufacturing, services and infrastructure.

Here is a Brookings report about how Africa's industrialization will look a bit different than those of the past. Read it:
brookings.edu/opinions/afric…

And here are some ideas of African countries to invest in:

My colleague @tylercowen is especially enamored of Ethiopia.

So is China.

bloomberg.com/view/articles/…

In sum:

Africa is the future.

Investing in African services, manufacturing, and infrastructure is not colonialism, but a win-win.

So, be there or be square.

(end)