Carol Paton | What's Albania got to do with us?

South Africa has had the benefit of the best economic development advice. Albania's astonishing turnaround shows just what can be achieved if anyone actually listens, writes Carol Paton. 

Last week, one of the world's smartest minds in economic development research and practice, Harvard's Ricardo Hausmann, delivered his diagnosis of SA's ailing condition. 

Hausmann's Growth Lab, which has been advising countries on how best to foster economic growth since 2006, has been working closely with the Treasury and other government entities for the past two years to develop recommendations on how SA can arrest its slide into deepening poverty and inequality.