Who said economics is for donkeys

Cheap government loans and grants had allowed many to renovate their homes and instal indoor bathrooms. To such people, the president was a saviour. Coming to you daily during COP The NS team Sign up here. Green Times A weekly round-up of The New Statesman's climate, environment and sustainability content. That echoes a comment attributed to the late Ayatollah Khomeini, leader of Iran's Islamic revolution, who is alleged to have said: "Economics is for donkeys.

It's the economy, Mr Ahmadinejad. The Iranian president's adherence to 'donkey economics' is damaging his political stock. The Iranian president blames 'secret networks for rising house prices. Reuse this content. In many regions of Africa, donkeys support growing economic landscapes and are a part of the social and cultural fabric of human society.

Ethiopia has approximately 8. In Ethiopia these animals are often visible on road sides pulling carts from rural areas to busy market hubs in town centres or carrying packs of firewood on their backs to homesteads. Here, donkeys provide transport, food security and income generation to some of the poorest and most marginalised households, yet donkey contributions to human livelihoods remain largely unexplored.

Their numbers, combined with their social and economic contribution, create a significant need to account for and represent these animals and their owners within practical development discourse. Our research across four locations in central Ethiopia investigated the role donkeys play in shaping human livelihoods.

These animals are revealed as a critical source of support to Ethiopian households, creating economic security, social status, empowerment to marginalised groups such as women and the very poor, and provide a sense of companionship to their owners. The results revealed seven key themes on why working animals should be included in conversations, planning, and policy making in Ethiopia and across African countries where donkey ownership is prevalent: donkeys as generators of income, the relationship between donkeys and social status, donkeys and affect, empowerment through owning and working with donkeys, the role of donkeys in reducing vulnerability and encouraging resilience, donkey husbandry and gender dynamics and differences between rural and urban settings — all of which give a broader and richer insight into the value of donkeys.

Working donkeys are not only important economic contributors and assets. Donkeys empower owners through independence, status, employment, health and happiness.

One donkey owner, while speaking about the importance of his donkey to his life said:. People who do not own donkeys are under-privileged, not respected and underestimated; they are living in poor conditions. They are the poorest sector of the community. Donkeys were frequently depicted by respondents as creating a pathway out of extreme poverty and providing owners with enough income generation to support their livelihoods. Another participant explained:. Iddir or Iqqub are traditional community-based insurance or credit systems, respectively, where each individual relies on the other members for participation to keep the system functioning, helping community members build assets and insure themselves against unforeseen shocks to their community.

Donkeys are an important pillar for these informal systems, because they are the main enabler for the owner to generate sufficient income to participate in the community savings and credit schemes.

However, those who have limited available money to purchase a donkey often resort to buying a donkey that has restricting physical issues, behavioural issues or is older in age and may not have the working life expectancy of younger, healthier donkeys.

This disparity marginalises those in communities who live in greater poverty relative to other members. The welfare of both humans and donkeys could be compromised. Feelings of happiness were also commonly expressed when participants explained the way they value their donkey and how they feel when working with them. Gratitude for the support donkeys provide was also a common sentiment.