News

The African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) in collaboration with the Ethiopian Policy Studies Institute (PSI) recently hosted an in-country research dissemination workshop to implement the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BGF) Human Capital Development (HCD) project. The event took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 21  July 2023. This project covers seven sub-Saharan African countries namely, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda, and Senegal.

The aim of the study was to generate evidence on the challenges of building human capital for accelerated inclusive development in Africa, and to address key constraints on human capital accumulation such as weak public financial management and service delivery systems.

Collaborating with AERC, the PSI researchers have been participating in the human capital development project in the case of Ethiopia and recently completed their respective papers. Thus, the workshop was meant to disseminate their findings to the key stakeholders including policy makers, researchers, civil society, and the public in general. The following papers were presented:

• Investment in Education and the Labour Market Mismatch in Ethiopia by Jemal Mohammed Adem  (PhD) & Alebel B. Weldesilassie (PhD).
• The Economy Wide Impact of Harnessing Human Capital Development by Alekaw Kebede Yeshineh (PhD) and Firew Bekele Woldeyes (PhD).

This physical workshop, which was graced by nearly 100 participants provided an opportunity for policy makers and researchers to engage in uninterrupted deliberations on a set of important issues regarding human capital development considered significant to policy formulation in Africa.