Brain Storming on

GROWTH WITH EQUITYHow Can Africa Flourish with Ethnic Diversity?
Date:

Monday & Tuesday, July 23-24, 2012

Venue:

International House of Japan, Tokyo

PROGRAM
Monday, July 23
Opening Session
09:00 – 09:10

WelcomeDr. Akio Hosono, Director, JICA Research InstituteProf. Nobuaki Hamaguchi, Director, RIEB, Kobe University

09:10– 09:30

Introduction by Moderators
Prof. John Lonsdale, University of Cambridge
Prof. Hiroyuki Hino, Kobe University and JICA Research InstituteSession 1
09:30 – 10:45

Ethnicity in Africa: Overview of Issues and Prospects
Presenters:

Prof. Bruce Berman, Queen’s UniversityProf. Motoki Takahashi, Kobe University(Joint presentation, 20 minutes)

This session is intended to offer an overview of ethnicities in Africa as related topolitical, social and economic discourse in their respective countries or across borders,
as a background to discussions on institutions, policies and other interventions that
could mitigate any negative impact of ethnic diversity, and if possible, transform it to a
positive force in achieving growth with equity in Africa.
10:45 – 11:00

Coffee BreakSession 2
11:00 – 12:15

Designing Democratic Rules to Foster Nationhood
Presenters:Dr. Raufu Mustapha, University of Oxford
Prof. Nahomi Ichino, Harvard University(Two presentations, 15minutes each)

Do majoritarian democracy rules yield socially optimal and stable outcomes even in acountry composed of distinct ethnic communities in which individuals’ preferences aremutually dependent and are bound by a social norm? If not, how should they bemodified? How can the present practice of ethnicity-based political contests and1consequent ethnic polarization give way to policy-based contests and national unity?
This session will address these and other related questions, and attempt to identify
possible solutions.
12:15 – 13:15

Lunch

13:15 – 13:45

Video Presentation: Market Experiment on Ethnicity
Presenter:

Prof. Ken-Ichi Shimomura, Kobe University

Session 3
13:45 – 15:00

Promoting Devolved Government for Equitable Sharing of Public Resources
Presenters:

Prof. Gustav Ranis, Yale University
Prof. Daniel Posner, MIT(Two presentations, 15 minutes each)

In an ethnically diverse country, what form of horizontal and vertical devolution/
decentralization of political authority can best assure fair and efficient provision ofpublic goods? What determines the appropriate balance between the power of the centerand that of the local authorities? How can fiscal discipline and economic stability besafeguarded while devolving budget authority to local governments? This session
addresses these and other related questions, and attempts to identify possible solutions.
15:00 – 15:15

Coffee BreakSession 4
15:15 – 16:30

Bonding Ethnic Communities and Building National Cohesion
Presenters:

Prof. Germano Mwabu, University of Nairobi
Prof. Arnim Langer, University of Leuven(Two presentations, 15 minutes each)

What measures of positive discrimination are there to bond ethnic communities andbuild national cohesion without resorting to strong central control? How effective cancultural (linguistic, educational, sporting etc) measures be? Will it be possible toachieve national cohesion without addressing poverty and consequent ethnic
protectionism as well as widening regional and ethnic inequalities? What are theimplications of urbanization? This session addresses these questions and attempts toidentify possible solutions.
19:00 – 20:30

Dinner2

Tuesday, July 24
Session 5
09:00 – 10:15

Addressing Cleavages over Land
Presenters:Prof. Kojo Amanor, University of Ghana, Legon
Prof. Ciraj Rassool, University of Western Cape
(Two presentations, 15 minutes each)How can the unresolved historical cleavages over land (ethnic and others) be best
addressed in charting a nation’s development strategy? What are examples ofsuccessful land ownership reforms in Africa, and how could they be emulated? Whereand how deliberate policy of encouraging ethnic integration in local administrative
units work? How could one avoid intensification of urban territory conflict in rapidly
urbanizing Africa? This session addresses these questions and attempts to identify
solutions.
Session 6
10:15 – 11:30

Ameliorating Trade-off between Growth and Equity
Presenters:

Prof. Thandika Mkandawire, London School of Economics
Prof. Frances Stewart, University of Oxford(Two presentations, 15 minutes each)Is there really a trade-off between economic growth and equity, and if so, what
safeguards are possible to ensure equity – class, ethnic or regional – and at what costs?
How much of the observed increase in inequity is due to market forces, and how muchto state interventions? This session addresses these and other related questions, andattempts to identify possible answers.
11:30 – 11:45

Coffee BreakSession 7
11:45 – 13:00

African Strategies for Growth with Equity
Presenters:

Dr. Benno Ndulu, Bank of Tanzania
Prof. Ernest Aryeetey, University of Ghana, Legon(Two presentations, 15 minutes each)

In Africa, economic growth has accelerated, and a sizable middle-income class has
emerged. Yet, poverty is deeply entrenched, and there are no clear indications thatvertical and horizontal inequalities are easing. The projected swelling of youth
population – most of whom do not have decent jobs – and the undercurrent of ethnic
and religious tensions portend political, social and economic instability. At the sametime, Europe and North America, the traditional markets for African countries, arestruggling while the emerging economies of Asia and Latin America are becoming themain engines of global growth. Moreover, the potential of Africa’s internal market canno longer be dismissed. Should African countries adapt their development strategies to3

address as a matter of priority the above social and economic challenges and also tore-align their industrial trajectories to the new world economic order? If so, how? Isthe East Asian Model still a good guide for Africa? How could the diversity of its
population, with each community having distinct economic strengths, be turned into asource of economic dynamism and growth for an African country? This session
attempts to provide answers to these questions.
Closing Session
13:00 – 13:15

Conclusions: Summing-up
Prof. Hiroyuki Hino, Kobe University and JICA Research Institute4