The Washington-based Cato Institute published on 18 March 2013 a fascinating study of Zimbabwe's economy titled "Zimbabwe: Why Is One of the World's Least-Free Economies Growing So Fast?" The author, Craig J. Richardson, an associate professor of economics at Winston-Salem State University in North Carolina, points out that between 2009 and 2011, Zimbabwe's GDP growth averaged an impressive 7.3 percent. This follows a negative GDP per capita growth rate from 2002 through 2008 and hyperinflation prior to 2009.
Richardson also compares Zimbabwe's performance to Africa's "Lion Kings": Angola, Chad, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda.