Because of the application of econometric techniques to large scale household data sets, we are now acquiring a better understanding of the microeconomic factors which influence poverty, health, education and household incomes, all of which are issues which will be covered in papers to be presented at the conference.
Macroeconomics provides a third set of issues which are relevant to the policy challenges facing Africa and which feature prominently at this conference. As our economies become more diversified, sophisticated and integrated into the global economy, macroeconomic management will become more complex and challenging, and hence our need for high quality macroeconomic research will become even more critical.