The Poverty Reduction, Equity and Growth Network (PEGNet) Conference 2018, organized in cooperation with the African School of Economics, will take place at the Azalai Hotel in Cotonou, Benin on October 11-12, 2018. This year’s theme is “Improving the quality of education and learning outcomes in developing countries”. The conference will provide a platform for high-level dialogue, and for the exchange of ideas between development researchers, practitioners and policy-makers.

The conference will be opened by the Ministry of Higher Education and will be attended by representatives from other ministries, including the Ministry of Secondary Education, the Ministry of Planning and Development and the Ministry of Finance.  The conference will also feature internationally renowned speakers, such as:

• Felipe Barrera-Osorio (Harvard University)
• Modibo Sidibe (Duke University)
• Leonard Wantchekon (African School of Economics and Princeton University)
• Peter Krahl (Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development)
• Marie-Odile Atanasso (Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Benin)
• Elizabeth Asiedu (Association of the Advancement of African Women Economists and the University of Kansas)
• Innocent Matshe (African Economic Research Consortium)

The conference is co-organised by the African School of Economics, the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and supported by the KfW Development Bank and the University of Abomey-Calavi.