Establishment:

EEA/EEPRI is established in July 2000 as the research and publication wing of the Ethiopian Economic Association. Its establishment follows an agreement between the EEA and a consortium of donors including Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) to fund its operations as part of an overall project to enhance the capacity of the association. It is the first independent economic policy research institute in the country.

Objective:
 

• Strengthen research capacity and establish independent policy analysis center to provide continuous information and analysis on economic policy matters.
• Collect and compile macroeconomic and sectoral data in a way that allows regorous empirical research on the Ethiopian economy.
• Improve the policy environment through informed public debate and contribute towards enhancing public participation in policy issues.
• Increase options available to the government in making economic policy decisions.
• Contribute towards the development of an informed, responsible and dynamic private sector.
• Provide an organic linkage between Ethiopian economic researchers based in Ethiopia and Ethiopian economists living abroad and other economists doing research on Ethiopia.
• Promote the study of economics in Ethiopia.
• Contribute towards the development of the Ethiopian economy by providing quality policy relevant research and disseminate such research to all stakeholders in the Ethiopian economy.
• Help the EEA achieve its stated objectives by serving as its research and publication wing.

Governance:

As part of the Ethiopian Economic Association, EEA/EEPRI is a non-profit research outfit without any political affiliation whatsoever and has been registered with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. EEA/EEPRI is operating under the Executive Committee of the EEA which is elected by the general assembly of the association for two years. Under the executive committee, EEA/EEPRI is administered by a director appointed by the executive committee.

Major Activities:
 

• As the research wing of the association, most of the activities of EEA/EEPRI will concentrate on conducting research and disseminating them to stakeholders. In terms of research, the institute will have three senior researchers responsible for three major areas for conducting in-house research. The areas initially selected are: agriculture and related, trade and industrialization and poverty, human resource and related. The senior researchers will be assisted by junior researchers and a host of support staff. The institute will also provide internships for fresh graduates from AAU as part of building capacity for research and supporting the in-house research staff. All research findings will be discussed through various fora organized by the institute and published.
• Conduct original surveys on selected areas directly by the institute and/or in conjunction with other research organizations.
• Publish the annual report on the Ethiopian economy.
• Provide support to Ethiopian researchers living abroad who wish to come and do policy relevant research on Ethiopia by creating research fellowships.
• Set-up a documentation center to be used as a suppository of all publications related to the Ethiopian economy.
• Prepare a consistent data base on the Ethiopian economy and make it electronically available to researchers and development practitioners including data on other countries for purposes of comparative analysis.
• Publish the research output in a way that is accessible to the general public.
• Organize conferences, workshops and round tables to discuss policy issues by various stakeholders.
• Establish working relationships with economic research institutes in other countries, particularly similar institutions in Africa, for experience sharing and learning from best practices.
• Establish good working relations with development related institutions such as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
• To ensure financial sustainability, engage in specialized research based on demand from clients on a fee basis.
• Provide training on policy analysis.

Those interested to contact EEA/EEPRI can address their queries to:

The Director,
Ethiopian Economic Policy Research Institute
P. O. Box 34282,
Tel. (00251-1) 160-981
Fax. (00251-1) 160-967
e-mail: eea@ethionet.et
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia

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