Young Professional Economists Network To Organize The New Economic Thinking Lecture

The Young Professional Economists Network (YPEN), a non-profit; non-partisan and an independent global organization which is established to raise new economic thinkers for the 21st century and beyond, is set to host its maiden New Economic Thinking (NET) lecture on January 29, 2015.

The NET Lecture Series is a vehicle through which Young Professional Economists Network (YPEN) delivers economic lectures on issues affecting the global economy. The lecture is intended to be a thought provoking lecture and set the agenda for global economics debate.

The theme for the maiden edition of the New Economic Thinking Lecture (NET lecture) is “New Economic Thinking for bridging the rising income inequality gap in Africa”.

According to the Young Professional Economists Network, Africa accounts for a large share of the world's people living in absolute poverty. The number of impoverished people has doubled since 1981. Africa's share of the world's poor rose from just below 20% to close to 25% (Kayizzi - Mugerwa, 2001). Nearly 50% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa live on less than US$ 1 a day today: the world's highest rate of extreme poverty.

In addition to Africa being one of the poorest regions in the world, the continent is also the world's second most inequitable region after Latin America.

According to Paul Frimpong, the founder and chairman of the Young Professional Economist Network, the platform is created to critically examine one of the rising economic challenges of the 21st century and to provide workable solutions.

“Our platforms encourage young professionals to step forward and examine the world freely; to initiate new ideas that will transform the African continent”

“We are gathering the next generation of economic thinkers, and to help these professionals to be the change agents for Africa's transformation”

According to him, they chose to deal with rising income inequality because “Income inequality has increased in both advanced and developing economies in recent decades, especially in Africa. There is growing evidence that high income inequality can be detrimental to achieving macroeconomic stability and growth”.

The New Economic Thinking Lecture will be delivered by Mrs. Marie-Laure Akin Olugbade, the Resident Representative of African Development Bank in Ghana. Other contributing speakers are Professor Kusi Newman, the Executive Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies and Dr. Christian Ahortor, Senior Economist at the West African Monetary Institute.

Attendance is free but strictly by invitation. Interested individuals and institutions should express their interest to attend by sending a message via [email protected]