News Release

Studying growth, poverty and well-being in Africa

Grant and Award Announcement

Cornell University

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Researchers at Cornell University, in collaboration with Clark Atlanta University (CAU), have received funding to support a five-year, $8 million effort to conduct research and training aimed at promoting economic growth and relieving poverty in Africa. The activity is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (AID).

Heading the multidisciplinary team of researchers is David E. Sahn, professor of economics in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell. He also is director of the Cornell Food and Nutrition Policy Program, a social science research institute that is among the world's leading centers for African economic policy research.

Other key Cornell faculty engaged in the research include N'dri Assié-Lumumba, associate professor of Africana studies and education, a leading sociologist; Ravi Kanbur, the T.H. Lee Professor of World Affairs and professor of economics, who is at the forefront of efforts to mix quantitative and qualitative research methods; Chris Barrett, associate professor of applied economics and management, who is pursuing mixed methods in African fieldwork; and Stephen Younger, an economist and senior research associate in nutritional sciences, who has written widely on issues of economic reform and poverty in Africa.

"Despite significant policy reforms in many sub-Saharan African countries, the achievements on growth and poverty reduction have been disappointing even in politically stable countries -- with rare exceptions," says Sahn.

The research group, which includes economists and social scientists from related fields, will explore issues related to access to health education and nutrition, including the HIV/AIDS pandemic, poverty traps and poverty dynamics risk and vulnerability, including food insecurity and empowerment of the poor.

"Specific research projects, methods and technical assistance activities will be defined in collaboration with African policy-makers, stakeholders and researchers," says Sahn. "We do know, however, that we will take a bottom-up perspective."

This perspective is unique in that it focuses from the start on the capabilities of individuals, households and communities -- their productivity, their vulnerabilities, their institutions and their environment, Sahn says.

In particular, detailed consideration will be given to how economic and social development occurs at the community level. This is unlike most approaches used in the past that have been top-down in nature, analyzing how costs and benefits of reform trickle down through the economy to the poor.

"Our aim is to better understand the economic, social, institutional and natural constraints that keep Africa's poor from prospering in the context of growth-oriented reforms," says Sahn.

In addition to the research projects, the AID grant will fund technical assistance from the collaborating universities and a series of small grants to support U.S.-based researchers seeking to work in Africa.

The small grants portion of the award will be administered by CAU, which is a private, coeducational institution of predominantly African-American heritage, formed in July 1988 through the consolidation of the United States' first black graduate and professional institution (Atlanta University, established in 1865) and the nation's first black liberal arts college (Clark College, established in 1869).

###

CAU is a member of the Atlanta University Center, the largest consortium of Africa-American private institutions of higher education.

Related World Wide Web sites: The following sites provide additional information on this news release. Some might not be part of the Cornell University community, and Cornell has no control over their content or availability.

o Information about David E. Sahn

http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/des16

o Information on U.S. Agency for International Development

http://www.usaid.gov/


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.