Working Paper 58 - The Contribution of African Development Bank to Economic Knowledge and Policy in Africa

While the African Development Bank Group strives to be the leading development financeinstitution in Africa, the link between research and development policy in an international financialintermediary is not always obvious. This paper expounds the logic of this crucial relationship andmakes the case for enhancing the role of the ADB as a knowledge and information center, providingsound intellectual leadership within the context of African development issues. The developmentprocess includes the fostering of research and intellectual ideas, which not only support the Bank’straditional lending activity but also promote discussion and inquiry into the socio-economic problemsand challenges of the region.Multilateral Development Banks including the ADB have increasingly recognized that to tacklethese challenges, they must play a major role as knowledge intermediaries in addition to theirfinancial intermediation functions based on the need to explore the causes, dimensions and interlinkagesof economic growth, poverty, population growth, as well ensuring that operational policiesconstitute a relevant and effective response to the problems of its member states. In this respectthe Bank has made modest contributions to economic knowledge and policy in Africa in three keyareas: (i) policy coordination through country policy dialogue and sectoral policy formulation aswell as post-evaluation studies; (ii) development research and dissemination encompassing theAfrican Development Report an annual survey of economic and social progress in Africa; TheAfrican Development Review a journal for the study and analysis of development policy issueswith particular reference to Africa; the Economic Research Paper series which aims to stimulatediscussions on Bank sponsored research findings and Statistical information (iii) support forresearch institutions and capacity building in the form of training and scholarships among the RMCs.However, despite the Bank’s best efforts, research functions have not attained their potentialhindered significantly by weaknesses that derive fundamentally from structural causes, notably theorganization and location of research, its leadership, scarcity of resources, and the corporateenvironment and support for a vibrant research culture.The paper concludes by outlining ways of enhancing the Bank’s role as a knowledge centeron African development policy issues in the short to medium term within the existing framework.