Welcome to Development Socks.

My name is Wouter Kleijn (31), living in Nairobi. I find myself interested in socio-economic development, political economy and development aid. My preferred topic is youth employment and entrepreneurship. This blog is an attempt to find answers to some big questions that keep on lingering (at least with me) and possibly raise new ones.

As for the name Development Socks, it is a silly word play: Both referring to the populist critique of development aid as well as a reflection of my own skepticism and questions with regard to development programmes. It also refers to a story my mum once told me when I was still a student when we were discussing development aid. She mentioned that her first experience with the development sector was the retirement homes in the Netherlands of the 1970s. Dutch elderly women were knitting woolen socks to “help the poor in Africa”. Although Nairobi can get quite chilly at night, an example of ‘aid’ not likely to be very effective.

Thanks again for visiting and please drop me a note (a suggestion, critical comment – anything really). You can contact me at wouterkleijn [at] gmail.com