Join the conversation on Tuesday May 3, 2016 12H00-14H30 at AfDB Headquarters in Abidjan ( CCIA-- 1G)
What can resource-rich countries do to beat the resource-curse and better weather the cyclical nature of commodities’ markets? Why do declining commodity prices—and the resultant loss in revenue—affect some countries that are heavily dependent on natural resources, but not others? For example, among the countries studied in a World Bank Group evaluation, why did Kazakhstan and Bolivia cope better than Mongolia and Zambia? And, as Konstantin Atanesyan asks in a blog: how should development partners like the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group engage with their resource-rich country clients? Given the number of resource rich countries in Africa, these questions are relevant for all.
Join the independent evaluation departments of the AfDB (IDEV) and the World Bank (IEG) for evidence-based answers to these questions. This is also an opportunity to share your thoughts on these and other issues in resource rich countries.
The meeting will be chaired by Rakesh Nangia, Evaluator General, AfDB
Nick York and Konstantin Atanesyan, from the World Bank, will share findings and lessons from an IEG country program evaluation of World Bank Group engagement in four countries that are endowed with abundant natural resources and also heavily depend on revenues from their extraction: Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Zambia.
Following the presentation, AfDB colleagues from the African Natural Resources Center, the Governance Department, and Independent Development Evaluation will contribute to the discussion: o IDEV will contribute relevant knowledge from recent country strategy evaluations that are relevant for the AfDB with respect to its Ten Year Strategy and implementation of its “High 5’s” agenda.
Pietro Toigo from the African Natural Resources Center will reflect on the implications of the World Bank evaluation findings—focusing on what the findings mean for AfDB efforts to make natural resources a platform for sustainable development outcomes.
Achille Toto Same from the Governance Department will weigh in from the governance angle drawing on his rich experience working on mineral- and oil-rich African countries.
About the Presenters
Nicholas York is the Director of the Human Development and Economic Management Department in the World Bank Group’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG). He oversees independent evaluations of country programs and economic management as well as corporate evaluations and global partnerships. Prior to joining IEG, Nick was Chief Professional Officer for evaluation in DFID in the UK. His team was responsible for independent evaluation of DFID's major policies and programs and for developing the evaluation function in DFID, including support on capacity and quality. In 2006/7 Nick chaired the steering group for the multi-donor evaluation of budget support. He also chaired the DAC evaluation network and helped to set up 3ie. Nick’s background and training in economics includes working as a macroeconomist and advising on health systems and quality in the UK government.
Konstantin Atanesyan is a Senior Evaluation Officer at IEG’s, Economic Management and Country Programs Unit (IEGEC). His experience in the World Bank Group includes positions at the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Network in Europe, Central Asia (ECA) and East Asia and Pacific (EAP) Regions, and the Corporate Secretariat. Before joining the World Bank, Konstantin held a number of senior positions in the Offices of the President and the Prime Minister of Armenia, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and CARE International. He holds graduate degrees in International Development Policy (Duke University, USA), Political Science (Haygazian University, Lebanon) and Middle Eastern Studies (Yerevan State University, Armenia).
Pietro Toigo is a Chief Macroeconomist in the AfDB’s African Natural Resource Center (ANRC). Prior to joining the ANRC, Pietro served as Chief Macroeconomist in the AfDB’s Governance, Economic and Financial Reforms Department, working on Public Financial Management, private sector development and governance of the extractive sector. He previously worked as a Senior Economist in Zimbabwe and Sierra Leone and as Country Representative in Libya for the UK Department of International Development, where he designed and managed a portfolio of programmes covering economic management and management of the extractive sector. He was also Head of the Budget Preparation team in the Coalition Provisional Authority and adviser to the Minister of Finance during the post-conflict transition of power in Iraq, where he contributed to the first Oil Management Law. He holds an MSc Economics from the London School of Economics.
Achille Toto Same is a Principal Public Finance Management and Taxation Expert in the AfDB’s Governance, Economic and Financial Reforms Department, working on Public Financial Management and private sector development. Prior to joining the AfDB, Achille was with the, World Bank Group mainly at the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM)-Africa Region. During that period Achille extensively worked and published several Policy Research Papers on resource rich countries, windfall management and economic development in Africa. He holds a PH.D in Development Economics from University of Nice-Sophia-Antipolis.
About the World Bank Evaluation
World Bank Group Engagement in Resource-Rich Developing Countries: The Cases of Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and Zambia.
The evaluation finds that these countries face an interrelated set of development challenges that fall under three overarching pillars:
- Management of revenues from an exhaustible resource;
- Growth and employment in the non-extractive sectors, and
- Inclusive growth and reduction of poverty.
These issues closely relate to the World Bank’s goals of eradicating poverty and boosting shared prosperity, and to the AfDB’s overarching objectives of fostering green and inclusive growth.