ECA to train experts on how to achieve macroeconomic policy convergence in East and North Africa
ECA to train experts on how to achieve macroeconomic policy convergence in East and North Africa
About 40 experts from various ministries of finance and planning; Central Banks, and regional economic communities (RECs) in North and East Africa will participate in a four-day workshop on how to enhance the capacity of African countries to achieve macroeconomic policy convergence which opens today in Cairo.
The workshop is in the context of the continued work of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in developing the capacity of African policy makers, RECs and research communities, to design, implement and monitor sound macroeconomic policies and better institutional frameworks.
ECA’s Economic Development and NEPAD Division (EDND) which organized the workshop, said in a statement today that the training would enhance the capacity of African policymakers to design and implement macroeconomic policies that promote high, stable and pro-poor growth as well as regional macroeconomic convergence. It will also facilitate the exchange of experiences on how to design and implement such polices.
Participants will review various schools of thought in macroeconomic analysis and learn various fiscal and monetary policy tools applicable in an open economy.
They will explore the theoretical foundations and empirical evidence of macroeconomic convergence and examine the relationship between macroeconomic stability and economic growth as well as between nominal and real convergence.
Two policy studies have been prepared to assess the state of macroeconomic convergence and its importance for accelerated and sustained pro-poor growth in East and North Africa and to highlight regional and country-specific experiences as well as key constraints to enhancing macroeconomic convergence in the sub-regions.
The studies provide recommendations oh how to most effectively transmit lessons learnt and issues identified to policy makers. They will provide an analytical foundation for the training materials which will be used at the workshop.
EDND says the training will enhance the sharing of national and regional experiences while identifying key constraints and factors underlying macroeconomic convergence and guiding policymaker’s choices to design and implement strategies in favor of East and North African populations.
This article was originally posted on East Africa Business Communities