Wife or whore?

The choice is that simple. At least according to economists Lena Edlund and Evelyn Korn, it is.

The two well-respected economists created a minor stir in academic circles a few years back when they published "A Theory of Prostitution" in the Journal of Political Economy. The paper was remarkable not only for being accepted by a major journal but also because it considered wives and whores as economic "goods" that can be substituted for each other. Men buy, women sell.

Economists have been equating money and marriage ever since Nobel Prize-winning economist Gary Becker published his seminal paper "A Theory of Marriage" in two parts in 1973 and 1974--also, not coincidentally, in the Journal of Political Economy.

Becker used market analysis to tackle the questions of whom, when and why we marry. His conclusions? Mate selection is a market, and marriages occur only if they are profitable for both parties involved.

Becker allowed nonmonetary elements, like romantic love and companionship, to be entered into courtship's profit and loss statement. And children, in particular, were important. "Sexual gratification, cleaning, feeding and other services can be purchased, but not children: Both the man and the woman are required to produce their own children and perhaps to raise them," he wrote.

But back to whores: Edlund and Korn admit that spouses and streetwalkers aren't exactly alike. Wives, in truth, are superior to whores in the economist's sense of being a good whose consumption increases as income rises--like fine wine. This may explain why prostitution is less common in wealthier countries. But the implication remains that wives and whores are--if not exactly like Coke and Pepsi--something akin to champagne and beer. The same sort of thing.

As with Becker, a key differentiator in Edlund and Korn's model is reproductive sex. Wives can offer it, whores can not.

To be fair, Edlund and Korn were merely building an admittedly grossly simplified model of human behavior in an attempt to answer a nagging question: Why do hookers make so much money? Prostitution is, seemingly, a low-skill but high-pay profession with few upfront costs, micro-miniskirts and stiletto heels aside.

Yet according to data assembled from a wide variety of times and places, ranging from mid-15th-century France to Malaysia of the late 1990s, prostitutes make more money--in some cases, a lot more money--than do working girls who, well, work for a living. This held true even for places where prostitution is legal and relatively safe. In short, streetwalkers aren't necessarily being paid more for their increased risk of going to jail or the hospital.

I just can’t imagine a primary chap reading for 8hours in a day and a secondary school student doing more than 17subjects? Could anyone be knowing where Mr. Specialization is found? Save! Save! We need to deploy….
Take History for example, I happen to be one of those who  appreciate the  knowledge of African History  so interesting and educative if you doubt that, try reading the myth of the First Muganda Kintu with wife  Nambi and the two brothers Walumbe and Kayikuzi if still not contented you can try out  Labong and Gipiri or Isaza and Nyinamwiru . For European History and other parts of the world I doubt my stand.

Refusing to accept defeat to Mwai Kibaki in the 27 December presidential election, Mr Odinga's party boycotted crisis talks with the new president.
It is certainly true that the post-electoral violence in Kenya has taken on a tribal character.

"Tribal differences in Kenya are exploited by politicians hungry for power, "Vote for me," they say, "because I'm from your tribe and you can trust me."

you ask almost any African whether democracy can prevail in African continent the answer will be qualified: "Yes, democracy can work... if only our leaders allowed it."

It would be naive in the extreme to discount ethnicity in any African election.