Somalia THE "REAL" SOMALI ECONOMY IN THE 1980s
Camel caravan transporting goods in northern Somalia
between Hargeysa and Berbera
Courtesy Hiram A. Ruiz
Truck loaded with passengers and household goods
Courtesy Hiram A. Ruiz
The Somali economy in the 1980s, when viewed in standard
economic terms, was characterized by minimal economic reform and
declining GDP per capita. But the macroeconomic perspectives,
which were based on questionable data, presented an unreliable
picture of the actual Somali economy. In fact, the macroeconomic
figures used by the IMF and the World Bank would lead one to
wonder how any Somalis could have physically survived the recent
years of economic crisis. Yet visitors to Somalia, although
distressed by the civil war and the wanton killing, observed a
relatively well-fed population up until the 1991-92 drought.
Clearly a Somali economy existed outside the realm of
international data collection. Examination of what has been
called Somalia's "unconventional" economy allows a better
appreciation of how the Somali economy actually worked.
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