The shape of things: Nigeria’s economic recovery

At 14:28 on May 12 2008, an earthquake rocked the Sichuan province in China. 

Two minutes later, the shaking stopped. The earthquake was over by 14:30, but enough damage had already been done. There were thousands of casualties, and the wreckage was to the tune of $130 billion as bridges collapsed and buildings fell over. 

No doubt, this was a devastating event for the region—its people suffered, and the economy tanked. In the weeks that followed, though, the Chinese government began a massive rebuild. 

In fact, the government claimed that the amount of money spent would “far outweigh” the economic losses from the disaster. They invested $150 billion in 41,310 projects, which were all completed within two years. 

Schools, hospitals, roads and other facilities were rebuilt. 

According to the government, the rehabilitation increased China’s economic growth by 0.3% in 2008. 

The key thing to note here is that as far