This is a presentation I did in universita deglii studi di Brescia, Italy. The intention is to introduce my country's history, political happenings and economic environment. In doing so, I would like to share the work to my friends in LinkedIn, too. Here you go!

1. History, Politics and Economic Review of Ethiopia
Brescia University
Arega Getaneh

2.  Geography
 Area 1,104,300 sq. km, which makes it
approximately as big as France and Spain
combined.
 Capital city Addis Ababa (2,355m altitude;
making it the 3rd highest capital city in the
world.
 The birthplace of Pan-Africanism (a united
Africa). Hailed by Emperor Haile Selassie I, it
led to the birth of the African Union.
 It is also the diplomatic capital of Africa.
 More than 70% of Africa's mountains are
found in Ethiopia.
 Known by long distance runners.
Political map of Ethiopia

3. Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile River, which meets the
White Nile River in Sudan to form the Great Nile River.
Lake Tana supplies 85% of the water to the Great Nile River.
The Danakil Depression is home to one of the lowest points on
the African continent - Dallol, at 116m below sea level - and one
of the only lava lakes in the world - at Erta Ale volcano.
The Great Rift Valley, the most significant physical detail on the
planet that is visible from space, cuts through Ethiopia from the
northeast to the south of the country

4. Culture
There are more than 80 different ethnic groups in Ethiopia with just as many
languages and over 200 dialects are spoken throughout the country.
Ethiopia is the only country in Africa with its own unique script.
Ethiopia claims to hold the Ark of the Covenant as well as a piece of the True Cross
on which Jesus was crucified.
Ethiopia is known as the Cradle of Mankind, with some of the earliest ancestors
found buried in the soil. Lucy (3.5 million years old), the most famous fossils
found, were unearthed in Hadar.
Ethiopia remains one of the only nations in Africa never to be colonized. It was
occupied briefly by the Italians from 1936 to 1941.
Ethiopia is home to 9 UNESCO World Heritage sites, more than any other country
in Africa.

5. Religion
Ethiopia is the home of the Black Jews, known as the Falashas, or Beta
Israel.
Ethiopia adopted Christianity in the 1th century, making it one of the
oldest Christian nations in the world.
Islam also appeared early in Ethiopia, during the time of Mohammed,
when his followers fled persecution in Arabia and sought refuge in
Ethiopia.
Emperor Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia, is worshipped by
Rastafarians as a divine being. In fact, their name comes from Haile
Selassie's birth name, Ras Tafari, which means "Prince Tafari".

6. Food & Drink
Coffee, one of the world's most popular beverages, was discovered
in Ethiopia, in the region of Kaffa.
Ethiopia has the largest per capital density of cattle in Africa and
the 10th largest in the world.
Teff, the grain used to make the Ethiopian staple injera, is an
ancient grain believed to have originated in Ethiopia between
4000BC and 1000BC.
It is the smallest grain in the world and is rich in calcium,
phosphorous, iron, copper, aluminum, barium and thiamine and is a
good source of protein, amino acids, carbohydrates and fiber. It is
a great gluten-free option.

7. Nature
There are 279 species of mammals found in Ethiopia, of which
5 are critically endangered, 8 are endangered, 27 are
vulnerable and 12 are near-threatened. There are 31
endemic mammal species found in Ethiopia.
There are 924 species of birds found in Ethiopia, making
Ethiopia a bird-watchers paradise. Of these, 23 species are
endemic to Ethiopia.
There are 175 species of fish found in Ethiopia, 40 of which
are endemic.

8. Politics
Feudal system ended in 1974
The military junta took power and the country divided
ideologicaly
The military group submmited to USSR and the oppositions
got support from US.
Finally the Derg regime eradicated for once from Ethiopia
and replaced by anather US backed minorty groups.
They prepared a new Constitution so called democratically
participated many representatives of ethinic groups.

9. Ethnic makeup!

10. Parliamentary system
 The ruling party: EPRDF
 Almost one party rule.
 No opposition party representative in the parliament recently (0 out of 547)
 The now constitution is written in 1994 based on Bicameral parliamentary system.
 The president is head of the state and his role is role of ceremonial
 The political framework is governed by the federal parliamentary republic headed by
the Prime minister
 The executive power is kept by Ethiopian government
 HPR has 547 seats and HF has 108 seats. Members are elected by direct election.

11. Elections in a nutshel
After Ereteria separeted from Ethiopia, the country had the first so
called fair, free and democratic election in 1994
The third election, 2005, was historical in Ethiopian politics. Here the
incumbent lost all seats in major cities of the country including the
capital.
After the elections; things changed,
EPDRF party got 327 seats, oppositions won 220.
Only 1 person was in the parliament and the government declared as it won 99.6% of the
seats in 2009
They won 100% in the recent election
The claim of the people

12. Three months later public protests erupted near the capital.
The protests accompanied with government crack downs.
Anti-government gesture used by protesters in the Oromia region used
by popular figures like athletes.

13. Reasons for protests
There has not been a specific trigger and what we are seeing is an
accumulation of years of frustration from ethnic groups who say they have
been marginalized by the government.
Demonstrations began in Oromia November 2015. Protests have also sprung
up in July in the Amhara region.
Oromia and Amhara are the homelands of the country's two biggest ethnic
groups.
New York-based Human Rights Watch says that more than 1000 people have
been killed in clashes with the security forces in Oromia.
Down down Woyane the final showdown (Weyane is mocking name of the
regime)
As a result the government declared a state of emergency since last October
.

14. Economic History
Before 1991
After King Haile Sillassie I returned from exile (from England in
1942), the country started to establish 3G (Good Governance
Government).
The commercial code, industries, banks and economic sectors
New parliament, civil code
Ministerial structures
Education, health, transportation etc.
However, the first mafias emerged in the country and disturbed
the systems from being established.

15. Finally, the Military group took power and introduced
socialism, which destroyed the previous established systems.
This tyranny regime also was not free to do whatever it
liked. Other warlords emerged in the North and fought for
17 years.
With the help of USA they came to power and launched
market economy.
The main economy of the country is agriculture

20. Export Performance and Economic Growth In Ethiopia

21. Trade Balance (using recent data)

22. Ethiopian export in Kind

23. Public investment in Ethiopia

24. Developmental state economy and Ethiopia
Developmental state, or hard state, is often associated with the type of economic
policies followed by East Asian governments in the second half of the twentieth
century and, in particular, with the post World War II Japanese economic model.
It could be understood as referring to a state that intervenes to guide the
direction and pace of economic development
In this model of capitalism (sometimes referred to as state development
capitalism), the state has more independent, or autonomous, political power, as
well as more control over the economy.
Governments in developmental states invest and mobilize the majority of capital
into the most promising industrial sector that will have maximum spillover
effect for the society.
Cooperation between state and major industries is crucial for maintaining stable
macro economy.

25. Features of developmental states
Interventionist
Vision oriented
Effective planning and coordination
Committed to building human capital
Efficient and autonomous bureaucracy
Strong executive, weak legislative
Nature of the Ethiopian developmental state
Its interventionist tendency is too much to the extent of being market unfriendly.
There has been a lot of criticism that the GTP is too ambitious considering the economic
situation of the country at the starting point, the institutional capacity already in place and
the fact that the country is substantially dependent on foreign aid.

26. Effectiveness in planning and coordination
The domestic saving practice is not that much reliable to generate the required amount of capital for
investment
The setting institution in charge of planning and coordinating long term development as an ad-hoc body
outside the regular hierarchical government structure is very in efficient, as economists criticized.
Commitment to building human capital
achievements is in the expansion of education is remarkable while in expense of quality.
Until the quality of education is fit to the demand of the economy it is not possible to say that the need
for human capital has been satisfied, only by counting numbers.
Efficiency and autonomy of the bureaucracy
The institutions in which the functionaries operate are strongly influenced by the ruling elite since the
higher positions in many governmental departments are assigned according to an ethnic based quota
system to meet equal representation.
This results in bureaucratic institutions and functionaries that are not disciplined, exhibiting high level of
inefficiency, rent seeking behavior and rampant corruption at a system level.
Executive-legislative relation
Currently having a majority of 100% of the parliamentary seats, the ruling party practically makes the
laws, executes them and controls the execution. The parliament and other independent controlling
institutions such as the Auditor General, the judiciaries are usually described by critics as a ‘toothless
lion’ that cannot bite.

27. Challenges of the Ethiopian developmental state
The Ethiopian developmental state is challenged in its move forward by both
internal and external forces.
the existence of chronic political difference impeding the possibility of consensus
on major issues.
Years after Ethiopia has officially claimed to have adopted the developmental state
model, there is still fierce debate and disagreement continuing on such basic issues
as:
what is a developmental state?
Is developmental state relevant for Ethiopia?
What type of developmental state should Ethiopia follow?
Which country should be a model for Ethiopia to learn from?
Losing trust on five years term election
Ethnic federalism
The corrupt system
Marginalization of majority groups from politics and economic inequality
State capture, patronage groups and the inefficiency of government structures
Media sansuring and bubble propaganda

28.  Concerns: Property Rights, Corruption, and Regulatory Efficiency
 Weak rule of law and lack of effective implementation undercut policies aimed
at promoting open markets.
 Endless red tape and an underdeveloped financial sector continue to deter
investors and prevent the emergence of vibrant entrepreneurial activity.
 The informal economy provides most jobs for the relatively unskilled labor
force.
Economic freedom in Ethiopia

29. In conclusion
Ethiopia is a country;
Rich in history, culturally decorated multi-ethnic as well multi-religious,
Agriculture led economy and majority rural,
Recently, is achieving fastest economic growth but no fair economic distribution,
Mafia economy is in control of the whole system,
Due to incompatible system of the government and chronic corruption, ongoing
protest is leading the state to declare state of emergency
Human rights and democratic rights are threatened
The death toll rises on daily bases while the government pretends as democrat
Activists and diaspora based politicians are highly in disagreement on what to do
The west shut up in order to use the country’s strategic position.

30. References
 Kefale, A. (2011, June 15-18). Narratives of developmentalism and development in Ethiopia: some
preliminary explorations. Paper presented at the 4th European Conference on African Studies,
Uppsala, Sweden.
 Tegegn, M. (2008). The EPRDF vis‐à‐vis Ethiopia's development challenges. African Identities, 6(4),
445-475. DOI: 10.1080/14725840802417992
 Senait G. (2011) The Contribution of Export Earnings to Economic Growth of Ethiopia: a Trend
Analysis
 World Bank, 2015. World Development Indicators.
 http://www.heritage.org/index/country/ethiopia
 https://youtu.be/juHvTV9J_zY

31. For your attention
Thanks