APL (Ajiken Power Lunch)

APL (Ajiken Power Lunch) is a lunchtime workshop open to public, including IDE staffs, visiting research fellows, IDEAS students, outside researchers and graduate students. This workshop provides a platform for presentation of any work in progress where we can discuss in either English or Japanese.

Those who would attend a seminar are asked to announce yourself to receptionists on your arrival at the IDE and to obtain APL Organizers' signature on your admission card after the seminar.

February 12, 2016. (Friday) 12：30-14：30

Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization C22 Meeting Room 　

Macroeconomic Foundation for Structural Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Based on my background paper written in 2014 for the UN ECA, my seminar talk would focus on road maps for laying a macroeconomic foundation for structural transformation in Africa, wherein structure transformation is defined explicitly as development processes involving both productivity-enhancing structural change and institutional and societal transformation towards creating an articulate economy and an inclusive society. In my talk I examine how to achieve an articulated economy through deepening of regional integration towards the creation of vibrant regional markets with dynamic externalities and spillovers, and agglomeration-clustering effects. Towards this end I discuss three pillars for the foundation by: i) investing in human resources; ii) building economic and social infrastructures; and iii) realizing institutional transformation for productive private-public coalition.
As entered the 21st century, at the backdrop of the narrative of ‘Africa rising’, Africa is positioned at a historically juncture with new opportunities as well as formidable challenges. In this conjuncture, it is argued that besides ensuring macro stability, macroeconomic policies should be envisioned in relation to an overall, pro-active, developmental strategy specifically designed for facilitating the process of transformation of economic and social structures with a view to ensuring a positive feedback loop in the investment-growth nexus as well as to engendering a pro-poor, shared growth.

Machiko Nissanke (Emeritus Professor of Economics, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS))

Takahiro FUKUNISHI

English