Manuel Tacanho

The Mali Empire flourished as a trading center and gold-producing region from the late Middle Ages into the mid-seventeenth century.

Development economists often confuse natural resources with wealth and then are puzzled when countries rich in resources experience widespread poverty. Free markets lead to creation of wealth, period.

The New York Times recently interviewed economist Herman Daly, who insists that economic growth is ecologically destructive. There is much more to the story.