As we have all discovered, life continues even under COVID-19 as people adapt and adjust to the new normal. Many usual things are getting unusual meanings and importance. The same must be true for
COVID-19 and fiscal space of Ugandan local governments
Local government fiscal space consists of three main components, own source revenues, intergovernmental fiscal transfers (grants) and borrowing. Considering that the share of borrowing in local gov
Life After Corona: Business as Usual?
Trying to predict the future is so inherently human. To me, this is a sign of ingrained optimism: even when the future predicted is very gloomy, it is still a future we are talking about. Future fo
COVID-19: Local Governments on the Frontline
As for most people around the world, COVID-19 pandemic is high on my mind. This is what I discuss professionally every day with my United Nations colleagues in Uganda. The experience so far demonst
Capitalism: Reality or Illusion
Fred Block’s Capitalism: The Future of an Illusion (University of California Press, 2018) has a very clear objective—to challenge market fundamentalism by exposing its fundamental assumptions,
Uganda’s structural transformation: What’s the role of urbanisation?
How is Uganda doing on its structural transformation and what is the role of urban areas in this process? Uganda’s economy has been experiencing structural transformation for the past two decades
Urbanisation in Uganda and its Discontents
2019 was marked by the decision of the Ugandan government to create nine cities by upgrading some municipalities to this status. This is the first ever creation of cities in Uganda’s independent
Local government: 20 years later
This post attempts to analyze the local government landscape 20 years after UNCDF’s 1998 publication “Taking Risks”. Without any pretension to comprehensiveness, I will try to summarize t
Trio II: The Winter of Our Discontent (Part 2)
The three authors chose three very different entry points and perspectives to argue their case: (liberal) democracy for Mounk, inequality in the age of (liberal) capitalism for Milanovic, and (libe
Trio II: The Winter of Our Discontent (Part 1)
“It’s so much darker when a light goes out than it would have been if it had never shone.” John Steinbeck I owe the title of this review to the eponymous book of John Steinbeck who borrow