UN Economic and Social Development
Division for Sustainable Development

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Launch & Panel Discussions of:
"African Economic Outlook 2010
Special theme: Public Resource Mobilisation and Aid"

 

Conference Room 3, North Lawn Building
UNHQ, New York,
17 June 2010,
10:00 A.M. -12:00 P.M.

Co-hosted by:
the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development (DSD-DESA), the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa (OSAA), and the Regional Bureau for Africa of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

"African Economic Outlook" (AEO) is a joint publication of the OECD Development Centre, the African Development Bank and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

 

Global Recession, MDGs, Africa & Economic Growth

This year’s edition of the AEO finds Africa’s economies weakened by the global recession and at the same time under pressure to make additional efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The world economic crisis brought a period of high growth in Africa to a sudden end. Average economic growth was slashed from about 6% in 2006-2008 to 2.5% in 2009 with per capita GDP growth coming to a near standstill. The global crisis of 2009 had its strongest effect on southern Africa, where growth was slashed (from the average over the preceding three years) by almost 8 percentage points to negative growth of around 1%.

Public Resources, Taxation & Aid

While Africa is on a path to recovery, buoyed by the strengthening of global trade and the rebound of commodity prices, there is a risk that growth remains too low to significantly reduce unemployment and poverty. It is against this backdrop that the 2010 AEO explores how public resources can be better mobilised for development through more effective, efficient and fairer taxation. This issue is particularly important given the uncertainties about future export revenues and unstable, unpredictable inflows of Foreign Direct Investment and Official Development Aid. The study includes an analysis of practices that erode the existing tax base such as the excessive granting of tax preferences, insufficient taxation of extractive industries and an inability to fight abuses of transfer pricing by multinational enterprises.

Publication Launch Event - Regional Specialists

Regional specialists from the United Nations, OECD Development Centre, the African Development Bank and Academia will provide an up-to-date picture of the state of economic, social and political affairs across Africa, and address:

• Africa’s economic performance in 2009/10 and prospects for recovery from the global economic crisis
• Challenges to increasing the African tax base including transfer pricing by multinationals, excessive granting of tax preferences and inefficient taxation of extractive industries
• How more efficient, fair and effective taxation can generate needed development financing
• Economic independence of African countries as several nations celebrate 50 years of independence from colonialism
• Progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

The event will be moderated by Mr. Tariq Banuri, Director of the Division for Sustainable Development and will include panel presentations and interactive discussions.