Nairobi was the venue for both of the biannual thematic research workshops held in the last year. The biannual continue to demonstrate AERC's capacity building function as they showcase sub-Saharan Africa's talent in economics, in what are generally the largest gatherings of economists in the continent. In the last year a total of 37 new researchers joined those ranks.

Biannual plenary sessions
A highlight of each biannual workshop is the plenary session, which explores new research themes and methodologies by internationally known scholars. The plenary session of the May 2002 workshop, which focused on "Public Sector Delivery," featured the presentation and discussion of three papers:

• Governance Issues in Public Sector Delivery," by Prof. Pranab Bardhan, University of California-Berkeley,USA. The discussant was Prof. Robert Bates, Harvard University, USA.
• Making Services Work for Poor People," by Dr. Shanta Devarajan and Ritva Reinikka, World Bank, USA. The discussant was Dr. Bernadette Kamgnia, University of Yaounde II, Cameroon.
• Poverty, Bureaucratic Behaviour and Health Policy," by Dr. Tchetche N'Guessan, Office of the Prime Minister and University of Cocody, Cote d'Ivoire. The discussant was Prof. Teny Ryan, University of Nairobi, Kenya.

The May plenary also incorporated a new feature, the policy roundtable. Issues related to "Public Sector Delivery: Policy Implication and Practice" were the topic of discussion by Peter Gakunu, Economic Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Kenya; Rukia Wadoud, Coordinator, Public Service Reform Programme, Tanzania; Vincent Mutambo, Chair, Committee for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, South Africa; Ita Mannathoko, Economic Policy Adviser, IMPACT, Botswana; and Kenneth Mugambe, Commissioner, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Uganda. Ms. Wadoud and Ms. Mannathoko are representative of the dynamic African women economists AERC has identified in its efforts to broaden participation in Consortium programmes.

The plenary session of the December 2001 workshop featured a luncheon speech by Dr. K.Y. Amoako, the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa. Dr. Amoako spoke on "Overcoming Africa's Marginalization: Implementing the New Partnership for Africa's Development."

This plenary session focused on Growth and Poverty. Four papers were presented and discussed:

• Growth and Poverty Reduction in Sub-Saharan Africa: Macroeconomic Adjustment and Beyond," by Prof. David Sahn, Cornell University, USA. The discussant was Prof. Jean-Paul Azam, University of Toulouse I, France.
• AIDS and the Accumulation and Utilization of Human Capital in Africa," by Dr. Nancy Birdsall, Center for Global Development, USA. The discussant was Prof. Mwangi Kimenyi, KIPPRA, Kenya, who also presented the paper, as Dr. Birdsall was unable to attend.
• Rural Development, Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction in SSA," by Prof. Germano Mwabu, University of Nairobi, Kenya, and Prof. Erik Thorbecke, Cornell University, USA. The discussant was Prof. Arne Bigsten, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
• Growth, Inequality and Poverty: Looking Beyond Averages," by Prof. Martin Ravallion, World Bank, USA. The discussant was Prof. Jean-Yves Duclos, Université Laval, Canada.