Economics1,663 following
How much does geography determine economic development?
In Favor1Critical1Mixed1
Raised by Dr. Femi Akintola21 Apr 20264 sources
Economics · History · Society
African Economic Development
Growth, institutions and infrastructure, argued from the continent.
Charter & moderation1,967 members · no host yet
Charter
Claims about magnitudes need a source. Country cases are preferred to continental generalisations. We read one book a quarter and invite its critics rather than its author.
House rules, host and flagged threads →Reading sprints
Seven days, one text, one cohort
A daily prompt, a check-in and shared margin notes.
No sprint running. Start one and the circle reads together for a week.
Ideas live in this circle
Economics1,284 following
Does economic growth always improve quality of life?
In Favor1Critical1Mixed1Unresolved1
Raised by Ouattara Bamadou14 May 20263 sources
Society611 following
Do cities reduce inequality or concentrate it?
Mixed1
Raised by Amara Moyo25 Jun 20262 sources
Reading list
Book
Why Nations Fail
Daron Acemoglu & James A. Robinson · 2012
Places inclusive versus extractive political institutions, rather than geography or culture, at the centre of long-run prosperity.
Book
Development as Freedom
Amartya Sen · 1999
Argues that development should be measured as the expansion of real freedoms people enjoy, not as income growth alone.
Podcast / Lecture
Institutions, Rain and Roads — a conversation on African growth
Dr. Femi Akintola & Amara Moyo · 2026
A 74-minute exchange on whether infrastructure or institutional reform should come first in landlocked economies.
Live sessions
Debate
24 Sept 2026
18:00 GMT · 90 min
Debate: Should rich countries abandon growth targets?
Formal two-side debate with cross-examination and a recorded change-of-mind poll before and after.
OBOuattara Bamadou412 attending
Join live roomStudy Session
8 Oct 2026
17:00 WAT · 75 min
Study session: measuring the landlocked penalty
We work through three identification strategies together and try to break each one.
DFDr. Femi Akintola241 attending
Join live roomMicro-debates
Motions before this circle
No motion on the floor. Open one and the circle argues it in four rounds.
Members
DFDr. Femi AkintolaDevelopment economist
AMAmara MoyoUrbanist
OBOuattara BamadouFounder, Agora Sapiens
MHMiriam HaasHistorian of technology
Salon schedule
What recurs here
Weekly audio salons, reading cohorts and journal clubs that give the circle its rhythm.
No standing salon yet. A circle becomes a salon when it keeps an hour every week.
Collaborative anthology
The shelf this circle argues from
Members recommend foundational texts, vote them up the canon, and pin the passages that matter.
The shelf is empty. Recommend the first foundational text.
Research & working groups
Cohorts on a single question
Small groups inside the circle that take one inquiry seriously enough to keep notes.
No working group yet. Convene one around a question worth months.