News

It is with great sadness that I share the news of the passing of Jeffrey C. Fine, the first Executive Director of the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC). He served AERC from August 1988 to March 1994.

Mr. Fine left his position at the International Development Research Centre (Jan 1984 – July 1988) where he was the Senior Programme Officer to establish the AERC, a major Africa network of professionals engaged in economic policy research and graduate education. He is known for having introduced new approaches for improving the quality and relevance of economic research and its effective dissemination to key audiences within and outside Africa. Also, he implemented the collaborative graduate program in economics which currently serves more than 20 Sub-Saharan African universities and successfully mobilized resources from 15 international and bilateral agencies and private foundations towards core support of the AERC’s capacity building projects.

Jeff, as he was fondly known, worked with the government of Canada and Kenya as an Economist where, among other tasks, he prepared economic strategy papers, developed project management and financial control systems, and carried out studies on international financial institutions, including the IMF, World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

Some of his works include: “A strategy for graduate training in economics for Africans.” AERC Special Paper Number 9, published in 1990 by AERC. His other publication on “PhD education in economics in Sub-Saharan Africa: Lessons and Prospects,” was published in 1994. This report summarizes the results of a series of studies commissioned by the African Economic Research Consortium to assess the desirability and feasibility of an Africa-based collaborative programme to offer a doctoral degree in economics.

His more recent activities include research and post-graduate education networks in Sub-Saharan Africa (Partnership for Higher Education in Africa), as well as the development of business school education in Sub-Saharan Africa and its application to service delivery (International Finance Corporation and the Global Business School Network).

Jeff made an incredible mark on the AERC and economic policymaking in Sub-Saharan Africa. As we remember his legacy, the AERC fraternity sends condolences to Jeff’s family and friends during this time of profound loss.