MIASA Policy Conference “Accelerating Africa’s Economic Transformation Towards Shared Prosperity and Sustainability”

This second MIASA policy conference (on 21–22 November 2023) is meant to provide a space for exchange between researchers, policymakers, development practitioners, and other stakeholders in development to present and discuss the most recent policy-relevant research findings on Africa’s economic development, its present patterns and future.

Africa’s economic development is at the cross-roads. The 20 pre-pandemic years have been – for some parts of Africa – the most transformative since independence. Yet, there is a long way to go. First, the transformation needs to regain its momentum to lead to sustained increases in productivity, income, and living standards. Second, its patterns must turn more inclusive to ensure that the potential gains from development are shared more equally. Third, a sustainable economic transformation in Africa can contribute to addressing global as well as local environmental problems, from climate change to deforestation and biodiversity loss. Fourth, development strategies will have to adjust to and be compatible with global changes, including the global energy transition and the geo-political tensions with repercussions on international trade and investment, which entail challenges and opportunities. Fifth, economic integration – both regionally and globally – has to turn into a major driver of sustainable development. While achieving higher value addition is an important element of integration strategies, more sustainable commodity exports, and mineral extraction should remain high on the agenda.

The conference is not only meant to bridge research and practice. It also encourages researchers and practitioners to step out of their respective silos and see, interpret and apply their knowledge in the broader context of Africa’s economic development without losing analytical rigor. All too often, applied research gets lost in detail and is too obsessed with identification with the consequence that it does not see the forest for the trees. At the same time, policies rely on broad narratives that are not well-backed by empirical evidence.

Keynote speeches/roundtable participants: Stefan Dercon, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford (virtual) Kevin Chika Urama, Chief Economist, African Development Bank (virtual) Edward K. Brown, African Centre for Economic Transformation (ACET) Programme Committee: Charles Ackah, ISSER Jann Lay, GIGA, MIASA and University of Goettingen, Germany Abena Oduro, MIASA and University of Ghana Rainer Thiele, Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Germany