The Economic Development WG will be at the YSI Africa Convening based at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare, Zimbabwe, Aug 16–18, 2018.
Calls for Papers are now open on the YSD. Submit by May 20, 2018. Attendees will be able to attend the annual conference of the Zimbabwe Historical Association in the same trip. Read the full CfP for all Working Groups and submit your work here.
The Economic Development has two CfPs at the conference:
No.1: Revisiting and Confronting the Challenges of African Development
Despite significant global economic advances, many African countries have experienced economic divergence with the Western world since independence. The issues faced by these countries range from political and economic dependence, reliance on primary commodity exports, poor infrastructure, weak health systems, capital flight, and weak political institutions.
Debates continue between scholars of various persuasions, focused on the role of institutions, colonial legacies and policy frameworks in shaping development across Africa. So many questions remain unanswered and are continuously echoed in economic development discourses. What constitutes economic development anyway? Can it be universalised? What is the role of the state, foreign governments, international organisations, and social movements, in Africa’s development processes? What is to be learned from the positive development experiences that have taken place on the continent, including efforts by the state and non-state actors to alleviate poverty and bring about economic development? It is within this context that the Economic Development Working Group is inviting papers that seek to engage with these broader questions related to African development. The themes include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Alternative theories of development
- Gender and economic development
- Religion and economic development
- Institutions and development
- Natural resources and development
- Aid and development
- Economic growth, inequality and development
- Technology and economic development
- Health and economic development
Questions regarding this call can be directed to: Susan Ziki ([email protected]), Ruvarashe Masocha ([email protected]) or Ingrid Harvold Kvangraven ([email protected]) from the Economic Development Working Group.
No. 2: A Critical Engagement with Financial Stability in Africa (with the Financial Stability WG)
The increase in new forms of financial flows and expansion of both traditional and new forms of financial services on the African continent has been met largely with optimism among both academics and policy-makers. With this event we wish to open up space for critical engagement and debate about the nature of financial development in Africa, its relationship to financial stability and development, and how best we can understand these new developments both theoretically, empirically, and politically. To what extent are theories and methods traditionally used to examine the role of finance in advanced economies, whether Neoclassical, Keynesian, Minskyan, or Marxian, appropriate in an African context?
We welcome contributions by junior researchers who wish to present their work at the Convening. We encourage papers from all theoretical traditions and methodological approaches. The contributions should be in the form a brief abstract (300 words) and be related to following fields and research questions:
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Financialization in Developing Economies: To what extent has there been financialization in developing economies, and what are the similarities and differences to the trend in developed economies? How has it affected financial stability? What is the relationship between financialization and government policy? How has financialization affected the link between the real and financial sector? What are effects of financialization that are specific to developing economies, and how are these dealt with?
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The Role of Foreign Finance in Africa: What kind of sector does foreign finance typically operate in? How does it relate to the operations of the domestic financial sector? How does it impact fiscal, monetary, and other government policy? What kind of opportunities, constraints, and vulnerabilities are associated with foreign finance? To what extent does foreign finance contribute to the development of Africa? What are the political implications of foreign finance
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Financial Innovations: Given the historical exclusion of African economies from the global financial markets, what kind of new instruments are being used to circumvent/address credit constraints? What kind of roles do older innovations like microfinance, Fintech and other forms of ‘financial inclusion’ play today in African economies? How does the traditional financial sector relate to financial innovations that arose in response to the underdevelopment of the traditional financial sector, such as mobile banking?
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Commodity Prices, Financial Instruments, and External Financing: How has commodity price volatility affected growth and distribution in African economies? How has it affected diversification, industrialization, and/or financial stability? How significant is the ‘Dutch Disease’ in the African context?
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Financial Institutions: What are the specific institutions governing financial development in African countries, and how do they shape the nature of financial development? What is the role of international financial institutions in shaping African financial development? How do private and public financial institutions intervene in African financial development?
Questions regarding this call can be directed to: Devika Dutt ([email protected]) – Financial Stability Working Group or Ingrid Kvangraven ([email protected]) – Economic Development Working Group.
Travel support
Partial or full travel support will be available for selected participants