Infrastructure is one of those aspects
of life that is often more noticed in the breach.
Without it - without adequate power, water, transport
and communication facilities – production processes
or location advantages may simply grind to a halt.
Good infrastructure is generally regarded as the central
cog of economic activity because it provides the environment
for productive activities to take place and facilitates
the generation of economic growth and development.
By efficiently moving goods and services to where
they can be used most effectively, transport adds
value and spurs growth. The provision of power permits
the use of modern technologies and processes.
Well-organized infrastructure development
is consequently indispensable if a nation’s
economy is to be integrated and the benefits of economic
growth are to be spread throughout the country. The
provision of infrastructure encourages investment
in less developed areas, allows wider movement of
goods and services, facilitates information flow,
and helps commercialize and diversify the economy.
Inadequate infrastructure is a major
obstacle to Africa’s economic growth, and adversely
affects the living standards of its people. The inadequate
state of infrastructure has adverse impacts on health,
education and the capacity of local producers as well
as their ability to compete in international markets.
The flip side, however, is that tackling the challenges
of infrastructure and related services can effectively
contribute to attaining and sustaining the 7% economic
growth rates necessary for achieving the Millennium
Development Goals.
With Infrastructure and Economic Development
in Africa as its theme, the African Economic Research
Consortium’s (AERC) Biannual Research Workshop
kicks off with a plenary session beginning at 9:00
am on Sunday, 2 December 2007 at Kilimanjaro Hotel
Kempinski, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. To be chaired
by Benno Ndulu, First Deputy Governor, Bank of Tanzania,
and a member of the AERC Programme Committee, the
session will feature three presentations by eminent
economists: Luis Serven of the World Bank will start
off the proceedings with a look at “Effects
of Infrastructure on Economic Growth and Income Distribution:
A Review of International Experiences and Lessons
for Africa”. Next, “Contributions of Infrastructure
to Trade Expansion and Regional Integration: A Review
of Global Evidence and Lessons for Africa” will
be the topic for Kennedy Mbekeani, United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), South Africa. Mthuli
Ncube of the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa,
will then speak on “Financing and Managing Infrastructure
in Africa”. All these papers will be discussed
by eminent economists from Africa and the rest of
the world.
A roundtable discussion on the theme
will close the plenary agenda. Chaired by Louis Kasekende,
Chief Economist, AfDB, Tunisia, panellists will comprise
African policy makers and analysts, who will review
various experiences, achievements and drawbacks in
these endeavours and give suggestions for additional
policies and strategies that are being or should be
considered to enhance infrastructure, and therefore
economic development, in Africa. The panellists will
also help identify areas for further research on the
linkages between infrastructure and economic development
in Africa.
Concurrent sessions of the workshop
proper start on Monday, 3 December 2007. They will
feature 81 presentations of research proposals, work
in progress, final reports and interim PhD thesis
reports. These will cover a wide range of topics that
fit into one or the other of the focal areas of AERC’s
thematic research programme: poverty, income distribution
and labour market issues; macroeconomic policies,
investment and growth; finance and resource mobilization;
trade and regional integration; political economy;
and sectoral policy issues. The workshop will also
host the fourth appearance of the students of AERC’s
Collaborative PhD Programme.
Preceding the main workshop will be
two meetings. The first, a two-day workshop jointly
organized by AERC and the World Bank Institute (WBI),
will hold on 28–29 November. Focusing on the
theme “Food and Agricultural Trade in Africa”,
the workshop will bring African policy makers and
researchers together to discuss implications of recent
trends and developments in agricultural trade flows,
recent global market developments and other strategic
agricultural trade issues associated with poverty
reduction. The meeting will benefit from the participation
of government officials from key ministries of agriculture,
trade, planning, foreign affairs and finance, researchers
in academia and representatives from professional
associations and consumer groups. It is expected that
60 participants from 8 African countries and others
from the USA will gather for this workshop.
The second meeting is based on one of
AERC’s Collaborative Research projects, the
Impact of China and India on Sub-Saharan Africa, whose
research focus has been the key features of Chinese
and Indian trade relations with Africa. The meeting,
titled “Scoping Studies on China-Africa Economic
Relations” will feature the participation of
researchers drawn from 21 African countries. These
researchers will present country case studies done
with the primary aim of gaining authentic insights
into the trade relations between the two Asian giants
and SSA countries. Secondarily, their studies will
provide a reliable basis for the selection of countries
where specific in-depth case studies will in future
be conducted.
The AERC is a leader in policy-oriented
economic research in the continent, and its biannual
research workshops have become the largest gatherings
of professional economists in sub-Saharan Africa.
The Consortium was established in 1988 as a public
not-for-profit organi¬zation devoted to building
capacity for economic policy research into problems
pertinent to the management of economies in sub-Saharan
Africa. This is carried out through two main programmes:
research and training.
The 20th Anniversary Observance: AERC
is looking forward to the year 2008 as a period of
year-long reflection on its history and prospects
– and its impact on the economic management
of sub-Saharan Africa in the past 20 years. To commemorate
this, AERC has planned to convene an international
conference on the theme “Natural Resource Management
and Climate Change in Africa: Issues, Opportunities
and Challenges”. The conference will turn the
spotlight on strides made in economic performance
in sub-Saharan Africa in the years spanning the turn
of the 21st century and gear up African policymakers
to proactively set in place mechanisms to confront
the challenges posed by climate change and natural
resource management.
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For more information about this workshop or AERC,
please contact:
The Executive Director
African Economic Research Consortium (AERC)
Middle East Bank Towers, 3rd Floor, Milimani Road
Tel: (254-20) 273-4150 / 273-4157
Fax: (254-20) 273-4173
exec.dir@aercafrica.org
communications@aercafrica.org
www.aercafrica.org
