Today, we have discussed about Zimbabwe’s economic situation and what were the barriers to Zimbabwe’s economic growth. There was many opinions about why Zimbabwe was still in suffering from economic difficulty.
One of the many barriers to Zimbabwe’s economic growth was its very high inflation of about 100,000 percent for its currency. It would require you millions of Zimbabwean dollars to just buy a pack of toilet paper. Also, it would require you to carry briefcase or even carts to buy rice and necessities for everyday life. One of the jokes that was mentioned in the class was that if a person rode a bus, the bus fee would increase even during when the person is riding the bus. This is how serious the Zimbabwe’s inflation is. So, inflation is one of the major reason why Zimbabweans are suffering from economic downturn.
I was surprised at how high the literacy rate in Zimbabwe was. In fact, it is about 90% for the whole population. It is quite surprising the fact they have very high literacy rate despite the economic situation. Generally, countries have low literacy rate if they have a bad economic situation.
Despite the high human capital, Zimbabwe’s economy is no better than those of other nations in Africa. Another major reason discussed in the seminar was that the corrupt leadership in Zimbabwe was hindering economic progress in Zimbabwe. Nugabe is a founding leader of Zimbabwe. He was one of the beloved leaders for liberating the Zimbabwean people from the white minorities. However, as years passed by, Nugabe got obsessed in maintaining political power. This has cost the economic situation in Zimbabwe, which has great potential to strive because of its high human capital and enriched resources. Also, he has oppressed the media, which has resulted in the vacancy of criticism against the regime.
In conclusion, Zimbabwe’s major barriers to economic growth were hyperinflation and political oppression. If Zimbabwe got rid of these barriers, it is highly likely that Zimbabwe will strive with its high human resources and its natural resources.
Sang's Economics Blog 
Mohamed said,
February 29, 2012 @ 1:08 am
In this artical the examination of the situation is in very general however this could be used as a stepping stone for the indepth analysis of the situation in Zimbabwe, in my view the only problem for the economic growth of the zimbabwe is not the political opression and hyper inflation, if we search and analyse the situation we will find more interesting arguments. however this is satisfactory
11kimsa said,
March 12, 2012 @ 1:21 am
Thank you for your reply. I bet there are other variables that are impeding Zimbabwe’s economic growth rather than the political situation or the inflation. I’m happy to hear that you’ve found this blog post ‘satisfactory’ 🙂