While the conference is heavily focused on questions of African economic history, the Working Group intends to build on those concerns by thinking broadly about how economic science impacts Africa. Engaging with disciplines such as history, development and pluralist and heterodox approaches to economics we will ask how we should understand the African present and past. These questions relate to how Africans should understand their place in rapidly evolving world economy. We expect to tackle such large questions of political economy such as the relationship of inequality to political stability. We also intend to use this occasion to ask what lessons scholars can draw from studying the African experience to study other regions of the world. The half day workshop is to discuss openly the narratives around economic development in Africa and how to fill the gaps. Professors Gareth Austin and Morten Jerven, Chibuike Uche will serve as mentors while other Young Scholars will be invited to share their own experiences and work. To participate in this workshop please submit a 300 word brief on how your current or future research relates to the topics that will discussed as well as 100 word biography. For more information contact Alden Young at
The YSI Africa Working Group is convening in Bologna, Italy in conjunction with the 13th Annual Meeting of the African Economic History Network. Our meeting in Bologna follows what promises to be a successful convention in August 2018 at the YSI Africa Convening in Harare, Zimbabwe. The YSI Africa Working Group is committed to continuing important conversations about how economic history can contribute to the study of development of Africa. We are particularly interested in thinking about the types of new approaches to the study of economics and economic history.