Lesson 26: Africa Presentations
Review:
- Course Evaluations
- Exam 4 on Thu (May 8)
Presentation:
- Student Presentations
Category: s25-econ320
Lesson 25: Investing in the 2020s Global Economy
Review:
- Course Evaluations
- Africa topics
- Exam 4 in 1 week
- Comprehensive
- Components: Short Essay, Map, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
Presentation:
- Outlook for the global economy
- Bullish long-term (20+ years)
- Bearish short-term (5-10 years)
- Drivers of long-term growth
- Information technologies
- Medical technologies
- Globally integrated markets
- Emerging economies (India, East/Southeast Asia, Latin America)
- Demographic trends
- Barriers to long-term growth
- Automation =Displaced workers (Economist PDF)
- Sovereign Debt | Since 19th Century
- Nationalism
- Corruption
- Environmental degradation
- All investing is value investing (otherwise, it’s speculation)
- Buy solid businesses at discount prices
- Most publicly traded companies are (still) overvalued
- Most US real estate is selling at inflated prices
- Emerging markets
- Watch for major price reductions in healthy assets
- Reliable vehicles for wealth accumulation
- Rental property
- Productive land (farms, timber, mineral rights, water rights)
- Profitable businesses (that you own, not where you work)
- Dividend paying stocks
- It’s only an asset if it generates positive cash-flow
- Future of money
- Currencies may be a wild ride
- US Dollar
- British Pound
- Euro
- Renminbi (Chinese yuan)
- Japanese Yen
- IMF basket of reserve currencies
- Precious metals – as volatile as the currency used for pricing
- Gold, Silver, et al
- Cryptocurrencies
- rhymes with .com boom/bust in 1999-2000
- only one Amazon.com emerged
- How many cryptocurrencies will survive?
- bubble?
- Tough competition
- Currencies may be a wild ride
- Wealth
- Essentially, all legal contracts
- Except commodities (keep them in a safe place!)
- Old white dudes who seem to know what they’re talking about
Assignment:
- Prepare for Africa Presentation
Lesson 24: NAFTA
Review:
- Exam 3
- Course Evaluations
- Africa Project
- Schedule
- This week:
- NAFTA (today)
- Investing in the 2020s Global Economy (Thu) + Exam 4 preview
- Next week:
- Africa Project Presentations (Tue) + Exam 4 preview
- Exam 4 aka All-Purpose Make-up Exam (Thu)
- This week:
Presentation:
- NAFTA
- What is NAFTA? (Washington Post, 2 min)
- NAFTA explained by Avacados and Shoes (Quartz, 5 min)
- USMCA (NAFTA 2.0)
- What are the differences between NAFTA and the USMCA (PBS, 7 min)
- USMCA vs NAFTA, explained with a toy car (Vox, 6 min)
Research Project Instructions:
- Select one of the African regional and economic topics (see below)
- OR Propose your own topic
- No shared topics – 1 student per topic
- Select topic by Thu
- Learn about the region and economic theme.
- Prepare a 3-slide presentation to share what you’ve learned.
- Why only 3 slides?
- Present in class
- OR Create a video recording of your presentation
- In-class presentations receive up to +10% extra credit (i.e., possible points = 110/100)
- Presentations next week, on Tue.
- OMG – we have no time!
- Use AI to help with content
African regional economic topic ideas:
- Sahel Region – Desertification, and the shifting geography of agriculture and pastoralism.
- Nile River Valley – Water access, geopolitics of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and regional cooperation/conflict over shared resources.
- Gulf of Guinea Coast – Offshore oil production and its impact on urban growth and environmental risks in Nigeria, Ghana, and neighbors.
- African Great Lakes Region – Trade, population clusters, and natural resources around Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, and Kivu.
- The Maghreb – Economic ties to Europe, remittances, and the role of geography in cross-Mediterranean migration.
- The Congo Basin – Resource extraction (timber, minerals), biodiversity, and challenges of infrastructure development.
- East African Rift Corridor – Infrastructure expansion (rail and road), urban corridor development, and geothermal potential.
- The Horn of Africa – Maritime trade through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the emergence of Djibouti as a logistics hub.
- Kalahari Basin – Water scarcity, subsistence agriculture, and tourism linked to natural heritage (e.g., Okavango Delta).
- West African Urban Belt (e.g., Lagos to Abidjan) – Rapid urbanization, informal economies, and regional trade integration in ECOWAS.
- Southern Africa’s Platinum and Gold Belt – Mining economies, labor migration, and geographic legacies of apartheid spatial planning.
- Mozambique Channel – LNG (liquefied natural gas) development, Indian Ocean trade routes, and regional security challenges.
- Lake Chad Basin – Water scarcity, transboundary resource management, and regional insecurity affecting economic stability.
- Cape Floristic Region (South Africa) – Unique biodiversity and its role in eco-tourism, agriculture, and conservation-driven development.
- Zambezi River and Victoria Falls Region – Hydroelectric development (e.g., Kariba and Cahora Bassa Dams), tourism, and water politics in southern Africa.
- Western Sahara & the Atlas Mountains – Geopolitical disputes, phosphate mining, and nomadic economies influenced by mountainous and desert geography.
- Port of Mombasa and East African Trade – Maritime logistics, hinterland access, and Kenya’s role in regional trade through the Northern Corridor.
- Senegal River Valley – Agricultural development, irrigation projects, and regional cooperation among Senegal, Mali, and Mauritania.
Lesson 23: Review for Exam 3
Review:
- US Intervention in Central America
- Exam 3 on Thu
Presentation:
- South America
- Amazon
- Hydropower
- Damocracy
- Belo Monte
- Wildfires
- Jair Bolsanaro
- Hydropower
- Mining
- Cerro Rico in Bolivia
- Copper Mine Accident in Chile
- Lithium Triangle
- Ecuador
- Yasuni-ITT
- Rafael Correa
- Crude
- Coca
- Pablo Escobar
- Cocaine supply chain
- Why Miami?
- Columbia
- Dr. Correa-Martinez visit
- Amazon
- Central America
- US Intervention during Cold War
- Nicaragua
- Sandinistas
- Contras
- Iran-Contra Affair
- Daniel Ortega
- Rosario Murillo
- El Salvador
- Oscar Romero
- School of the Americas
- MS-13
- Guatemala
- 1954 coup d’etat
- Somoza family rule
- Rigoberta Menchu
Assignment:
- Study for Exam 3
Lesson 22: US Intervention in Central America Part 2
Review:
- Nicaragua
- Exam 3 next week
Presentation:
- Intro to Harvest of Empire (03:00-4:55)
- Premise: US interventions in Latin America have resulted in increased levels of emigration/immigration
- Historic Northern Border of Mexico = Arkansas River https://www.historycolorado.org/exhibit/borderlands
- Puerto Rico (04:55-11:40)
- Guatemala (11:40-18:30)
- Post-WWII had progressive government enacting land reform
- United Fruit opposed the land reforms
- Eisenhower-Nixon Administration
- John Foster Dulles – Sec of State
- Allen Dulles – Head of CIA
- Former attorneys representing United Fruit
- CIA campaign
- opposition to President Arbenz
- infiltration and overthrow of government
- Civil War
- Brutal repression of political opponents and indigenous population
- Over 200,000 killed and 50,000 missing during decades of turmoil
- Majority of victims were indigenous Mayan
- Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu
- Documented evidence that death squads were supported and trained by CIA
- El Salvador (1:06:50-1:09:00; 1:10:00-1:16:45)
- Salvadoran Military
- Assassinated Bishop Óscar Romero (recently canonized)
- Raped and murdered 4 American nuns
- Slaughtered entire villages
- Many leaders trained by the US Military, in the US (School of the Americas)
- Backed and financed by the US govt
- MS-13
- Salvadoran Military
Discussion:
- Is migration an economic issue?
- Did these interventions contribute to instability in the region?
- Does the US have any legal/moral obligation to accept immigrants from the region?
Assignment:
- Prepare for Exam 3
- Read The rise of MS-13 (The Week)
- Read MS-13 gang: The story behind one of the world’s most brutal street gangs (BBC)
Lesson 21: US Intervention in Central America Part 1
Review:
- Ecuador
- Coca
- Drug Cartels
Presentation:
- Geography of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean
- Map Quiz
- Countries: Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico.
- Nicaragua and the Iran-Contra Affair
- My primary source: Stephen Kinzer
- Iran-Contra Primer (History Channel, 04:53)
- Contras based in Honduras, linked to Cocaine trade
- Not only Nicaragua, Honduras and/or Iran-Contra; one of many similar incidents
- Nicaragua
- Occupied by US Marine Corp 1927-1933
- Somoza family dictatorship 1936-1979
- Sandinista Revolution in 1979
- Reagan administration supports Contras
- Sandinista-Contra conflict killed 50,000+
- Harvest of Empire (54:00-1:01:40)
- I visited Nicaragua in 2016
- Stayed in Grenada
- Saw the inside of a volcano (zoom in at 0:40)
- Day trip to León, capital of the Sandinista revolution
- Museo Historico de la Revolucion
- Original campus of Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Nicaragua, UNAN
- Nicaragua Today – a new revolution?
- Inside the Nicaraguan Town Resisting President Daniel Ortega (NY Times)
- Daniel Ortega (President of Nicaragua)
- Rosario Murillo (Vice President of Nicaragua)
- Nuns Expelled from Nicaragua (NBC 3 min)
Assignment:
- Watch Harvest of Empire (01:27:02)
Lesson 20: Crude in Ecuador
Review:
- Columbia
Presentation:
- Latin Americas Reliance on Natural Resources
- Economist Article (PDF download)
- Economic development vs Environmental degradation
- How do Latin American countries solve this challenge?
- Yasuni ITT initiative
- Case of Ecuador
- Profile
- Population
- Visit to Ecuador
- Former President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa
- Charlie Rose interview
- Role of Government
- US Foreign Policy in Latin America
- Watch Crude
Assignment:
- Read this article about the failure of the Yasuni ITT initiative
- Watch the Charlie Rose interview with Rafael Correa
- Watch Crude
Lesson 19: Columbia
Review:
- Mining in Latin America
- Hydropower on the Amazon
Presentation:
- Guest speaker
Assignment:
- Watch Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller, Cocaine (47 min)
Lesson 18: Hydropower on the Amazon
Review:
- Mining in South America
- Columbia on Tue
Presentation:
- Natural Resource Extraction in South America
- Historical Theme
- Resource Extraction
- Conquistadors to Chevron
- Damming, Drilling and Mining
- Negative impacts on indigenous communities and natural environment
- Historical Theme
- Economy of Brazil
- In “BRICS”, B=Brazil
- Brazil GDP
- President Jair Bolsonaro (BBC)
- Amazon Rainforest
- Wildfires in 2019 (USA Today)
- Hydropower
- Hydropower Basics (energy.gov)
- Belo Monte Dam
- Vale Mining Dam Collapse (NYTimes)
- Watch Damocracy (start at 9:15, end at 27:30)
Assignment:
- Watch the rest of Damocracy
- Questions about Columbia for Tue
Lesson 17: Mining in South America
Review:
- Exam 2 Results
Presentation:
- Geography of South America – Map Quiz
- Mining is a major part of Latin America’s economy
- World Silver Production
- #1 Mexico, #3 Peru, #5 Chile, #7 Bolivia
- Mining in Cerro Rico (Bolivia): The Mountain that Eats Men (BBC)
- Copper Mining in Chile
- Codelco – largest producer of Copper in the world
- 2010 Copper Mine Accident and Rescue: Buried Alive – Chile Mine Rescue (until 11:30)
- World Silver Production
- Lithium Triangle
- Location – Salt Flats – intersection of Chile, Argentina, Bolivia
- Lithium
- Metal used in batteries
- Consumer electronics
- Automotive industry
- Lithium – the future of transportation energy?
- Demand rising
- Prices rising
- Compare with other commodities
- Metal used in batteries
- International investment in the Lithium Triangle (18 min)
- How can Latin America benefit from the Lithium “boom”?
- Nationalize or Privatize
- Foreign Investment
- Value-add industry development
Assignment:
- Read the articles above about the Lithium Triangle
- Watch Buried Alive – Chile Mine Rescue (47 min)
- Recommended (but optional):