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The Gig Economy to the Rescue

Aug 21 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      131593 Views

Gig working gets a bad reputation. This makes sense considering that much of the debate takes place in the developed wor...

The Million Dollar Question to What Happens to Floated Birr

Aug 14 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      136465 Views

It has been an interesting week for the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE). It sent out a message to all commercial banks that is consequential, to say the least. It ordered all collateral-based bank loans, even t...

The Miltonian Argument to Bring Political Stability

The power of markets to bring people together cannot be underrated. Milton Friedman, famed economist, infamous if one is more left-leaning, once used the pencil to describe how markets bring people together from around the world. He took from an example utilised by Adam Smith on...

Aug 7 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      125532 Views

Green Revolution Yet to Come to Ethiopia

No country has ever industrialised while remaining food insecure. There are examples of countries such as India that have jumped from an agriculture-based economy to more service-based, without going through the cycles of industrialisation and de-industrialisation that much of th...

Jul 31 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      103343 Views

Housing Predicament Needs Less Gov't

It is the dream of many to own houses. It makes sense. It is one of the few things that make life easier. Primarily, a home is wealth. It can be inherited and is usually a stable keeper of value. Especially in Ethiopia, where property prices appreciate at lightning speed, one can...

Jul 24 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      103341 Views

The Survival Guide to Ethiopia's High Inflation

Over the past two decades, there have been two significant economic challenges that have been a headache for policymakers. One is the foreign currency shortage, which famously led Sufian Ahmed, former Finance Minister, to remark that it would not be addressed in his lifetime. Ind...

Jul 18 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      64134 Views

The Miltonian Argument to Bring Political Stability

The power of markets to bring people together cannot be underrated. Milton Friedman, famed economist, infamous if one is more left-leaning, once used the pencil to describe how markets bring people together from around the world. He took from an example utilised by Adam Smith on...

Aug 7 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      125532 Views

Green Revolution Yet to Come to Ethiopia

No country has ever industrialised while remaining food insecure. There are examples of countries such as India that have jumped from an agriculture-based economy to more service-based, without going through the cycles of industrialisation and de-industrialisation that much of th...

Jul 31 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      103343 Views

Housing Predicament Needs Less Gov't

It is the dream of many to own houses. It makes sense. It is one of the few things that make life easier. Primarily, a home is wealth. It can be inherited and is usually a stable keeper of value. Especially in Ethiopia, where property prices appreciate at lightning speed, one can...

Jul 24 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      103341 Views

The Survival Guide to Ethiopia's High Inflation

Over the past two decades, there have been two significant economic challenges that have been a headache for policymakers. One is the foreign currency shortage, which famously led Sufian Ahmed, former Finance Minister, to remark that it would not be addressed in his lifetime. Ind...

Jul 18 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      64134 Views

'Dark Continent' Can't Find the Light

There are two types of human beings. One is found in the Global North - increasingly these days, it includes South Asian countries, which have managed to begin moving in lockstep with the industrialised economies of the world. This Global North has a great deal going for it. I...

Jul 10 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      25026 Views

The Bureaucrats Digitise

A few things characterise government services. They are inefficient and liable to errors, non-standardised, prone to corruption and often burdened by poor organisation. The popular conception of a lower government office that deals with the public daily is one of drabness, creaki...

Jul 3 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      5332 Views

When the Rain Makes or Breaks the Economy

The rainy season has begun. In Addis Abeba, it elicits mild disappointment as the season means more mud, colder weather (especially as air conditioning systems are virtually non-existent in households), and flooded streets though, of course, roasted corn by street vendors is a pl...

Jun 26 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      3292 Views

Global Inflation’s Coming: The Good and the Ugly

Lately, coffee has been good for Ethiopia. Over the past three months, exports have been showing impressive growth, fetching 107 million dollars in March. The month after that, this reached 114 million dollars. In May, it outperformed records with 131 million dollars worth of cof...

Jun 19 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      3643 Views

Where's Milk When Needed? The Problem with Kiosks and Co

There is something that most of us here in Ethiopia are used to but someone from a developed country would find strange. Retail is extremely atomised. Take my neighbourhood. In a radius of no more than 0.4Km, there are about seven pharmacies, three greengrocers, four bakeries, fo...

Jun 12 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      2561 Views

The Economics of Kicking the National Bad Habit

Vice pays, and not just to traffickers and gangs but governments as well. Even Ethiopia's government does it as it continues to profit from the sales of tobacco products. In spite of this, the Food, Medicine & Health Care Administration & Control Authority of Ethiopia hel...

Jun 5 , 2021      |      By Christian Tesfaye      |      3603 Views


Most read

Columns

Commentaries | Oct 11,2025

Stale Exchange Rates Hide Costs During Debt-for-Equity Conversions

Life Matters | Oct 11,2025

The Savior Complex, When Helping Hurts

My Opinion | Oct 11,2025

Climate Crisis Is Real. The Hysteria Is Not

Sunday with Eden | Oct 11,2025

The Power of Staying Unexplainable

Agenda | Oct 12,2025

TOMATOES TASTE OF INFLATION

Editorial | Oct 11,2025

The Human Flight a Failure of Political Imagination, Not a Mere Economic Policy


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Editorial

The Human Flight a Failure of Political Imagination, Not a Mere Economic Policy

Oct 11 , 2025

Ladislas Farago, a roving Associated Press (AP) correspondent, arrived in Ethiopia in...

Central Bank Loosens Credit Reins But Stops Short of Bold Overhaul

Oct 4 , 2025

Eyob Tekalegn (PhD) had been in the Governor's chair for only weeks when, on Septembe...

Exam Policy Fails the Test of Justice, Deepening Inequality, Disillusion

Sep 27 , 2025

Four years into an experiment with “shock therapy” in education, the national moo...

Addis Abeba's Setback Rules Leave Homes Flattened, Voices Silenced

Sep 20 , 2025

Getachew Reda's return to the national stage was always going to stir attention. Once...

Sunday With Eden

The Power of Staying Unexplainable

There's a version of us that lives in our parents' minds, the child they raised, frozen in time no matter how old we get. Another version ex...

Arrivals, Departures, and the Human Heart

Airports are not just hubs of transportation. They are emotional crossroads, places where laughter welcom...

Life Matters

The Savior Complex, When Helping Hurts

I have this one friend who absolutely amazes me. She's fiercely loyal, always trying to help, and practic...

When the Price of Survival Becomes the Ultimate Luxury

From daily observations I can no longer ignore, one truth has become impossible to shake: the very struct...

Agenda

TOMATOES TASTE OF INFLATION

Oct 12 , 2025

Tomato prices in Addis Abeba have surged to unprecedented levels, with retail stands charging between 85 Br and 140 Br a kilo, nearly triple...

Tomato Squeeze Guts Kitchens

Oct 12 , 2025 . By REDIET YARED and SURAFEL MULUGETA

The sun rose unsteadily over Addis Abeba last week, its pale light muted by dust and exhaust, flickering...

Textbook Shortages Mount as School Year Advances

The school year in Addis Abeba began almost a month ago, yet across the capital, thousands of students st...

Addis Abeba's Transport Gridlock Wears Commuters Thin

Sep 27 , 2025 . By YITBAREK GETACHEW and BEZAWIT HULUAGER

Crowds swell before dawn at some of Addis Abeba's busiest intersections, and the tension hangs in the coo...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Commentaries

Stale Exchange Rates Hide Costs During Debt-for-Equity Conversions

Companies hungry for cash face a familiar choice of either borrowing and repaying wit...

Flower Export Reforms Put Vital Partnership on the Test

A long-overdue update to the floriculture export regime is taking effect, but it arri...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Fortune news

Ministry Shifts Gears as Number Plate Change Fuels Debate

Oct 12 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

A sweeping change in the vehicle licensing system has tilted the scales in favour of...

Lawyers Threaten Legal Action Over Controversial VAT Registration

Oct 12 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE

A simmering dispute between the legal profession and the federal government is nearin...

Storm in the Valley Leaves Flower Exporters Face a Multimillion-Dollar Blow

Oct 12 , 2025 . By NAHOM AYELE

A violent storm that ripped through the flower belt of Bishoftu (Debreziet), 45Km eas...

Etihad, Ethiopian Forge HighFlying Pact in a Battle for the Skies

Oct 12 , 2025 . By BEZAWIT HULUAGER

An evolving joint venture between Etihad Airways and Ethiopian Airlines is shaping up...