"Were there such a category, Somalia would hold a place in Guinness World Records as the country with the longest absence of a functioning central government. When the Somalis dismantled their government in 1991 and returned to their precolonial political status, the expectation was that chaos would result - and that, of course, would be the politically correct thing to expect. Imagine if it were otherwise. Imagine any part of the globe not being dominated by a central government and the people there surviving, even prospering. If such were to happen and the idea spread to other parts of Africa or other parts of the world, the mystique of the necessity of the state might be irreparably damaged, and many politicians and bureaucrats might find themselves walking about looking for work.
If the expectation was that Somalia would plunge into an abyss of chaos, what is the reality? A number of recent studies address this question, including one by economist Peter Leeson drawing on statistical data from the United Nations Development Project, World Bank, CIA, and World Health Organization. Comparing the last five years under the central government (1985-1990) with the most recent five years of anarchy (2000-2005), Leeson finds these welfare changes: a.. Life expectancy increased from 46 to 48.5 years. This is a poor expectancy as compared with developed countries. But in any measurement of welfare, what is important to observe is not where a population stands at a given time, but what is the trend. Is the trend positive, or is it the reverse? b.. Number of one-year-olds fully immunized against measles rose from 30 to 40 percent. c.. Number of physicians per 100,000 population rose from 3.4 to 4. d.. Number of infants with low birth weight fell from 16 per thousand to 0.3 - almost none. e.. Infant mortality per 1,000 births fell from 152 to 114.9. f.. Maternal mortality per 100,000 births fell from 1,600 to 1,100. g.. Percent of population with access to sanitation rose from 18 to 26. h.. Percent of population with access to at least one health facility rose from 28 to 54.8. i.. Percent of population in extreme poverty (i.e., less than $1 per day) fell from 60 to 43.2. j.. Radios per thousand population rose from 4 to 98.5. k.. Telephones per thousand population rose from 1.9 to 14.9. l.. TVs per 1,000 population rose from 1.2 to 3.7. m.. Fatalities due to measles fell from 8,000 to 5,600. Another even more comprehensive study published last year by Benjamin Powell of the Independent Institute, concludes: "We find that Somalia's living standards have improved generally . not just in absolute terms, but also relative to other African countries since the collapse of the Somali central government." Somalia's pastoral economy is now stronger than that of either neighboring Kenya or Ethiopia. It is the largest exporter of livestock of any East African country. Telecommunications have burgeoned in Somalia; a call from a mobile phone is cheaper in Somalia than anywhere else in Africa. A small number of international investors are finding that the level of security of property and contract in Somalia warrants doing business there. Among these companies are Dole, BBC, the courier DHL, British Airways, General Motors, and Coca Cola, which recently opened a large bottling plant in Mogadishu. A 5-star Ambassador Hotel is operating in Hargeisa, and three new universities are fully functional: Amoud University (1997) in Borama, and Mogadishu University (1997), and University of Benadir (2002) in Mogadishu. The Call to "Establish Democracy" All of this is terribly politically incorrect for the reason I suggested. Consequently, the United Nations has by now spent well over two billion dollars attempting to re-establish a central government in Somalia. But here is the irony: it is the presence of the United Nations that has caused virtually all of the turbulence we have seen in Somalia. Let me explain why this is the case." http://www.mises.org/story/2701 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
