Participant List

 

NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH

 

Background Conference

Economic Research on African Development Successes

 

Sebastian Edwards and David N. Weil, Organizers

 

February 21 and 22, 2008

 

Royal Sonesta Hotel

40 Edwin H. Land Boulevard

Cambridge, Massachusetts

 

PROGRAM

 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21

 

 

8:00 am

Continental Breakfast available 8-9 am

 

 

9:00 am

Welcome; Goals of NBER Africa project

 

 

9:15 am

OLU AJAKAIYE, AERC

 

Towards Sustaining the Contemporary African Growth Experience

 

Slides Tables

 

 

9:45 am

ROBERT BATES, Harvard University

 

Research Opportunities

 

Economic Growth in Africa

 

 

10:15 am

WILLIAM EASTERLY, New York University

 

Does Advocacy for Africa Distort Research on Africa? Slides

 

 

10:45 am

Break

 

 

11:00 am

ALAN GELB, The World Bank

 

Is African Economic Performance Sustainable? An Overview Slides

 

 

11:30 am

NAVA ASHRAF, Harvard University

 

DEAN KARLAN, Yale University

 

Finding Missing Markets (and a disturbing epilogue): Evidence from an Export Crop Adoption and Marketing Intervention in Kenya

 

(Joint with Xavier Giné, The World Bank) Slides

 

 

12:30 pm

Lunch

 

 

1:30 pm

MICHAEL KREMER, Harvard University and NBER

 

JEAN LEE, Harvard University

 

The Return to Capital for Small Retailers in Kenya: Evidence from Inventories

 

(Joint with Jonathan Robinson, University of California, Santa Cruz) Slides

 

 

2:30 pm

STEPHEN O’CONNELL, Swarthmore College

 

Macroeconomic Management in Transition: Some Open Questions for Sub-Saharan Africa Slides

 

 

3:00pm

ROBERT ROTBERG, Harvard University

 

The Meaning of “Success” in Africa

 

Ibrahim Index of African Governance Africa’s Successes

 

 

3:30 pm

Break

 

 

3:45 pm

LAURA ALFARO, Harvard University and NBER

 

ALAN TAYLOR, University of California, Davis and NBER

 

Barriers to Development in Africa: Geography and Policy

 

(Joint with Giovanni Peri, University of California, Davis and NBER) Slides

 

 

4:15 pm

STEVEN RADELET, Center for Global Development

 

Economic Growth in the Emerging Democracies of African Slides

 

 

4:45 pm

Adjourn

 

 

6:30 pm

Reception at the hotel

 

 

7:00 pm

Dinner at the hotel

 

 

 

GEOFF LAMB, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

 

Introductory remarks

 

 

 

KWESI BOTCHWEY, Tufts University and former Minister of Finance of Ghana

 

Keynote address

 

 

 

 

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22

 

 

8:00 am

Continental Breakfast available 8-9 am

 

 

9:00 am

ANDREW WARNER, Millennium Challenge Corporation

 

The West African Recovery Slides

 

 

9:30 am

JANVIER NKURUNZIZA, UNCTAD

 

Predatory Politics and Economic Growth in Africa: The Case of Burundi

 

(Joint with Floribert Ngaruko, University of Nice) Slides

 

 

10:30 am

Break

 

 

10:45 am

DOUGLAS GOLLIN, Williams College

 

Agriculture and Rural Development Slides

 

 

11:15 am

ISAAC MBITI, Southern Methodist University

 

The Impact of Cell Phones in Africa Slides

 

 

11:45 am

EDWARD MIGUEL, University of California, Berkeley and NBER

 

Is it Africa's Turn?

 

 

12:15 pm

Lunch

 

 

1:30 pm

MARILOU UY, The World Bank

 

GIUSEPPE IAROSSI, The World Bank

 

Rationale and Quality of the World Bank Firm Level Survey Data

 

Slides Survey

 

 

2:30 pm

VIJAYA RAMACHANDRAN, Center for Global Development

 

The Cost of Doing Business in Africa Slides

 

 

3:00 pm

Break

 

 

3:15 pm

Discussion of potential topics and project logistics

 

 

4:30 pm

Adjourn

 

 

Updated 2/21/2008