Financial Economics and Financial Literacy

  A social media post recently posed a challenge that has resonated across Africa: "Instead of getting angry at South Africans, how about if we self-introspect and start fixing our countries?" The statement was intended to provoke reflection, particularly in light of growing tensions around migration in Southern Africa. Yet it also raises a deeper question: how does a society begin fixing itself when many citizens feel powerless, unheard, or excluded from meaningful participation in public affairs? This question is particularly relevant for Zimbabwe. For decades, Zimbabweans have debated economic decline, corruption, unemployment, governance challenges, service delivery failures, and the migration of skilled professionals. Yet despite these conversations, many citizens increasingly feel disconnected from the processes through which change is supposed to occur. When people lose confidence that institutions will respond to their concerns, hopelessness begins to take root. One o...

  "The greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." — Steve Biko Zimbabwe's challenges are often described in economic terms. We discuss inflation, unemployment, currency instability, migration, corruption, and declining public services. Yet beneath these visible problems lies a deeper crisis that receives far less attention: the gradual weakening of civic consciousness. A nation can survive economic hardship. It can recover from poor policy decisions. It can rebuild infrastructure and institutions. What becomes far more difficult to repair is a society that has lost confidence in its own ability to shape its future. For many Zimbabweans, survival has become the dominant national project. When prices rise, people adjust. When public services deteriorate, people adjust. When corruption scandals emerge, people adjust. When young professionals leave the country, people adjust. Over time, adaptation becomes normal and expectations decline. Citi...

  More than 2,000 years ago, Roman poet Juvenal observed a troubling trend in the Roman Empire. He argued that many citizens had become less concerned with governance, public accountability, and political participation. Instead, they were increasingly satisfied with two things: bread and circuses. Bread referred to food handouts and public welfare distributed by political leaders. Circuses referred to entertainment, including gladiator games, chariot races, spectacles, and festivals designed to occupy and amuse the public. Juvenal's concern was not that people enjoyed entertainment. Rather, it was that citizens had become distracted from their role in public life. As long as food and entertainment continued, many people paid less attention to questions of governance, corruption, accountability, and the exercise of power. The phrase "bread and circuses" has survived for centuries because it describes a challenge that extends far beyond Ancient Rome. It raises a timeless qu...