|
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| Event Information |
|
|
|
| Ethiopia Targeted Country Visit 2001 |
11 Mar 2001 - 16 Mar 2001 |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
Ethiopia is home to one of the world's oldest civilizations. Its former imperial family, who claimed to be descendents of Solomon and Sheba, were overthrown in 1974. Under the Derg regime that came to power until its ouster in 1991, the country experienced political turmoil, repression and economic mismanagement, amidst an intensifying civil war and the periodic tragedy of large-scale deaths from famines. In 1991, when the civil war ended, Ethiopia had approximately the lowest per capita income in the world. The country's social indicators and infrastructural network, such as its educational enrollments, health status and access to roads were far below the averages for Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite instituting some of the most ambitious programs in the region, Ethiopia faces steep economic and social development challenges.
Fortunately, since 1991, Ethiopia's economy has experienced a remarkable degree of macroeconomic stability and good growth on average. This is in-spite of its 1998-2000 conflict with Eritrea. Since 1992, average annual inflation has been in the low single digits and GDP growth has averaged around six percent a year. Growth however has been highly variable, reflecting the dependence of the economy on a rain-fed agricultural sector subject to frequent drought. The prices of Ethiopia's primary export, coffee, have been declining along with the country's terms of trade. Between FY00 and FY03, with the collapse of coffee prices, the terms of trade declined by some 40 percent. The drought of 2001-2002 (which straddled the FYs 2002/03) was the most severe since the one in 1984/5.
To gain further knowledge of many of these policy issues, the Initiative for Policy Dialogue (IPD) organized a visit to Ethiopia in March 2001. The IPD team comprised Joseph Stiglitz, IPD President, and Akbar Noman, IPD Senior Policy Fellow, met with government officials, academics, donor agencies, and civil society representatives. IPD used these consultations to help participants identify obstacles to growth and development, and alternative methods for overcoming them. These discussions formed the basis for IPD's return to Ethiopia in 2004, where the team hosted a broader, more focused debated on economic and social development policy.
|
|
| |
|
| In Partnership With |
|
| Inter Africa Group |
| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
|
|
|
| With Support From |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
