How UN staff are reshaping African cities

ASPECIAL ECONOMYUNUNUNUNUN emerges around any big office in the developing world. Other international bodies cluster around it. Expatriates move into the safe, pleasant neighbourhood where it is located. Local suppliers vie for contracts to sell fresh produce, stationery and other staples to all these organisations. Unskilled workers get jobs as cleaners, gardeners and security guards. And small businesses, such as posh cafés and dry cleaners, thrive serving the expats and well-paid local staff.The reason there is so much economic activity around hubs is simple: the has a lot of staff with a lot of money to spend. The Secretariat has a $3.2bn budget this year, with additional pots for peacekeeping and other agencies. A fair bit of that goes into salaries. So-called “professional staff”, who move around the globe, earn a base salary ranging from $46,000 a year for a fledgling policy wonk to $205,000 for an undersecretary-general (usually the head of a body such as the World Food Programme).