Reflections

I haven't made any particularly reflective posts in a while, perhaps because everything is becoming so commonplace now, or maybe just because I'm getting lazy :-) Anyways, here are two topics I've been pondering lately:

1) Fear of losing one's job makes people work harder and is one of the things that makes economies tick. When people have no fear of losing their job, whether it's because socially and culturally they know their boss won't fire them, or because their employer doesn't have the desire or ability to enforce consequences for low performance, they don't do their best quality work. This is certainly a problem here, but it is definitely not problem limited to the developing world. Ten points to anyone who knows the example I'm thinking of in the US...

2) Inability to get student loans is a major barrier to obtaining higher education here. Higher education, while hugely valuable, is expensive. There are a few scholarships available here (if you know the right people), but the only place to get loans is from banks, which charge astronomical interest rates (due to high default rates and inability to reclaim losses). Bank loans also often require guarantors, which are hard to come by around here. As a result, many smart, motivated young people seek full scholarship programs to study abroad...and never come back home. This has made me realize exactly how important student loan programs are to building the human capital of a country.

Thoughts/comments welcome.