I had it in mind to question why there have been no Nobel Prize winners in Economics from Africa, ever. Is it because most of the economies in Africa are underdeveloped, going by the standards set by top global economies and so the Nobel committee thinks we have nothing to offer? Is it because the economies of Africa are mostly not industrialised? Or are they considered not to be complex enough? Just what does it take for economists in Africa to get noticed, and for some of their work to be taken seriously? Perhaps African economists themselves are not doing enough intellectual work, which they can put out there in top journals. Another problem could be around the fact that those same journals are involved in hard gatekeeping, which can sometimes be termed as discriminatory. African economists themselves must be daring, and articulate. They must be proud of their work too and depend less on foreign funding. A lot can even be done with little local funding in the field of Economics. I believe that what matters for global recognition, whether at the level of the Nobel Prize or other genuine platforms, is the profundity of the work that economists do.
Why aren’t African economists winning Nobel Prizes?, By ‘Tope Fasua
