JICA Research Institute Seminar by Dr. John Page: "Aid, Structural Change and the Private Sector in Africa"

Structural change -- the shift of factors from low-productivity to high-productivity uses - is vital for long-run growth and poverty reduction in low-income countries. But despite recent growth, Africa has experienced only limited changes in its economic structure. This talk will make the case that Official Development Assistance (foreign aid) is partly responsible for the lack of structural change in Africa. Africa’s development partners have devoted too few resources and too little attention to two critical constraints to private investment: infrastructure and skills, focusing instead on easily understood, but potentially low impact regulatory reforms. A new aid strategy, one that catalyzes private investment in high value added sectors, is needed. Support for strategic interventions to push nontraditional exports, support industrial agglomerations, build firm capabilities, and strengthen regional integration should anchor a new donor agenda to create good jobs and sustain growth.

John Page, formerly chief economist for Africa and director, poverty reduction at the World Bank, is a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC. He currently studies industrial development, poverty and migration in Africa, and has also worked on the Middle East and East Asia.

Related Websites:
His work on the theme of the Seminar

Please click the "Apply" button below and fill in the application form. The deadline for the application is Wednesday 3rd October. Please note that we may close applications before the date in case we reach the fixed number. We regret that we cannot provide any financial support for your travel to join this symposium

Aikawa (Ms) / Yamashita (Mrs), Research Program Div., JICA Research Institute
Email: ditas-rsunit@jica.go.jpTEL: 03-3269-2959 FAX:03-3269-2054