The Econometric Society and the African School of Economics (ASE) announced that the 2018 Africa Meeting of the Econometric Society (AfES 2018) would be hosted at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Cotonou, Benin, from July 12 to 14, 2018.
The main objective of AfES 2018 is to promote the use of mathematics and statistical tools to better understand economic trends in order to craft better economic policy. Although the global outlook in recent years has been more optimistic, most of the world’s economies have become increasingly complex and multifaceted, with trends driven by psychological, historical and political factors.
In addition to the traditional economic fundamentals (savings rate, technological progress, population growth, etc.), factors such as risk and trust attitudes, electoral accountability, and citizen empowerment are now perceived as drivers of growth and prosperity. Analytical and quantitative tools are increasingly required to make sense of the complex patterns of human behaviour that determine economic outcomes (i.e. the allocation of scarce resources). As many developing countries often fail to design “good” markets and government institutions, the Econometric Society has been pushing for stronger training of young economists in topics such as advanced statistics, decision theory, and optimization; ASE shares this commitment to using mathematics and statistics to generate cutting-edge economic research and to train the next generation of African economists. On a more practical level, this type of training can lead to a wide range of new job opportunities in government as well as the banking, agriculture and technology sectors.
AfES 2018 features some of the premier economists from around the world, including Roger Myerson (University of Chicago), 2007 Nobel Laureate for his pioneering research in Game Theory and Mechanism Design; Tim Besley (London School of Economics), a specialist in the economics of the public sector; and Eliana la Ferrara (Bocconi University), a development economist.
AfES 2018 also features some of the most renowned economists from Africa and the Caribbean, including Jean- Pierre Benoit (London Business School), Renee Bowen (University of California San Diego), Nour Meddahi (Toulouse School of Economics), Victor Murinde (School of Oriental and African Studies), Cesaire Meh (Bank of Canada), and rising stars such as Moussa Blimpo (World Bank), Illenin Kondo (University of Notre Dame), Habiba Djebbari (University of Aix-Marseille), Pierre Nguimkeu (Georgia State University), Ismael Mourifie (University of Toronto), and Micaela Sviatschi (Princeton University) to name a few.
The conference is organized by Leonard Wantchekon (Princeton University), founder of ASE, and Prosper Dovonon (Concordia University).
Substantive topics covered include financial inclusion, education and human capital accumulation, infrastructure and regional development, agricultural productivity and poverty alleviation, economic history, culture, and long term economic development.
The conference will be preceded by a Summer Institute in Economic Theory, Econometrics, Development and Trade.
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