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12.02.2018
Professor Reuben A. Alabi: Visiting Scholar at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to continue researches on the Electronic Fertilizer Subsidy Scheme of Nigeria

Professor Reuben Adeolu Alabi, Guest Researcher at the Faculty of Economics and Business Studies, University of Bremen, was invited by the African Department of IMF to do researches over February and March 2018 at the IMF Headquarters on The Pro-Poorness Of The Electronic Fertilizer Subsidy Programme And Its Implications On Food Security In Nigeria. Professor Alabi will continue his researches on the Electronic Fertilizer Subsidy Programme Nigeria (EFSPN) which he started in Bremen during his research stay since 2015. The EFSPN Scheme is considered as innovative and as a model for other African countries. It was introduced by Akinwumi Adesina, since 2015 acting as the President of the African Development Bank, in the time when he served as Nigeria's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. Until his appointment as Minister in 2010, he was Vice President of Policy and Partnerships for the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

The shortcomings associated with the fertilizer subsidy scheme led Nigeria to adopt the Growth Enhancement Subsidy Scheme (GESS) in 2011. In this scheme the private sector plays the role of supplying and distributing fertilizer, while the government is involved in the registration of the beneficiaries and the payment of 50% of the cost of fertilizer and of other agro-inputs received by the farmers. The scheme delivers subsidized agricultural inputs to farmers through an electronic wallet (e-wallet) system. With unique voucher numbers that are delivered to their phones, farmers then redeem their input allocation from accredited agro-dealers. It is expected that this scheme will improve agricultural input distribution and marketing. In addition, it should provide incentives to encourage actors along the fertilizer value chain to work together towards the common purpose of improving agricultural productivity, household food security, and income. The hope is that this would better serve the intended beneficiaries who are farmers and reduce the fiscal burden of a universal fertilizer subsidy from the government thus making it more effective. However, there is need to find out if this new scheme is pro-poor and to test its impact on the fertilizer use and the productivity of the farmers in Nigeria. Professor Alabi will continue his researches about the pro-poorness of the programme in Washington D.C. at the IMF Headquarters, and will advise the IMF staff on the relevance of the system for other African countries. The new fertilizer subsidy scheme of Nigeria is also revolutionizing the finance system in rural areas of Nigeria (see: http://www.cgap.org/blog/bringing-mobile-wallets-nigerian-farmers).

This analysis is part of the programme “Food Security and Agricultural Transformation in Nigeria” which is done by Professor Alabi in Bremen in cooperation with Professor Karl Wohlmuth, who is advising the research programme since 2015. The two professors have now finalized a Unit of Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook on “Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policies for Agricultural Transformation in Nigeria”. The Unit on Nigeria has an Introduction written by the two professors on the issues, the contributions and the proposed strategy for Nigeria. New tools for agricultural transformation are considered, such as using indigenous agricultural technologies, developing Genetically Modified (GM) crops, and implementing Food Fortification strategies in Nigeria. A critical evaluation of these new tools is presented. Professor Alabi will continue his researches in Bremen until 2020. He has published widely in the IWIM publications series and he is acting as a co-editor of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook. Professor Wohlmuth supports the programme since 2015 as a senior adviser.

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12.02.2018
Blog: Der Verfall demokratischer Parteien und der Aufstieg populistischer Strömungen in der Eurozone. Ein Fallbeispiel
Der Bremer Wirtschaftsprofessor Karl Wohlmuth geht in seinem Blog auf den Verfall der SPD und auf die Lage der Sozialdemokratie in Europa ein. Die Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) verliert an Zustimmung, obwohl die soziale Lage der prekären Einkommensbezieher sich nicht verbessert, ja teilweise sogar verschlechtert. Nicht nur in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, auch in anderen Ländern der Eurozone, verlieren sozialdemokratische Parteien schnell und stark an Gewicht, obwohl die Lage der Haushalte in den prekären Sektoren sich eher verschlechtert, ein Verfall der Position der Mittelklassen erkennbar wird, und die Rentierklassen (der reichsten 1% der Haushalte) große Einkommensgewinne erzielen. Vgl. den Blog von Karl Wohlmuth: Die Zukunft der SPD. Der Blog profitierte stark von den Debatten über die Dualökonomie in den OECD-Ländern bei der Edinburgh-Konferenz des Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) im Oktober 2017. Das Institut wurde im Oktober 2009 in New York gegründet, um nach der Finanzkrise neue Denkansätze in der Volkswirtschaftslehre zu verankern.
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12.02.2018
The Growth of the Dual Economy in Advanced Economies. The October 2017 Conference of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) in Edinburgh, Scotland

The programme of the Conference of the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET) in Edinburgh, 21-23 October, had the overall theme: “Reawakening. From the Origins of Economic Ideas to the Challenges of Our Time”. The Conference was a remarkable event. There were panels, main lectures and presentations, keynote lectures, breakfast, lunch and dinner sessions, on subjects such as the consequences of the financial crisis and the great recession afterwards; the future of the eurozone; the growth of the dual economy in the advanced economies; the causes of popular revolts and of the rise of populism; lessons from democratic collapses and the rise of Nazi Germany; the rise of Trump and the America First Agenda; the emergence of public and private debt traps; the role of fake news and the role of economists; new developments in various contested fields of economics and political economy; but also discussions on developing economies and emerging economies; on Adam Smith and the Scottish Enlightenment; on technology and economic development; on immigration and intergenerational issues; on gains from trade, and so on. Lectures and presentations by four Nobel Prize Economists were of special importance and insights. George Akerlof, James Heckman, Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz gave impressive presentations on methodology used by economists, on specific contested issues of the economics profession, and on the policy implications of the work of the economists in governments and international organizations (see the link to the event: https://www.ineteconomics.org/events/reawakening). See on the overall agenda of INET: https://www.ineteconomics.org/

For development economists the sessions about the growth of the dual economy in the advanced world were a highlight. The discussion about dual economies was for a long time a domain of development economics; the development economists studied the take-off and the catching-up issues. The original purpose of dual economy models was it to show how a modern sector can be developed through surplus labour from a stagnating traditional sector. Now top economists were discussing at the conference in Edinburgh the growth of the dual economy in advanced countries to understand the “high income trap” which is affecting the most advanced economies. At high average per capita income levels severe problems arise for growth, employment and distribution which create political tensions and social problems in many advanced countries (see on the need to analyse the “high income trap” of the OECD countries as deeply as the “middle income trap” of the developing countries the following viewpoint: https://asia.nikkei.com/Viewpoints-archive/Economeister/Time-to-talk-about-the-high-income-trap?page=2). A new class formation is presented which is resulting from the “high income trap”: the “precariat” is increasing, the “rentier class” is growing, but the “middle class” is vanishing. In two sessions of the Edinburgh Conference the reasons for the emergence of the dual economy in the advanced countries and the type of policies to prevent the further advance of the dual economy were discussed. The new class formation is associated with a growing income share of the upper 1% of the income earners, while an increasing part of the capital share is going to the rentier class and an increasing part of the labour share is going to higher level wage earners.

The middle class is described as increasingly vulnerable and vanishing, while the class of precarious income earners is rapidly growing. Figures presented by Lance Taylor at the Edinburgh Conference highlight the new class structure for the USA. The USA have a three-class economy, so that it is better to speak of a “trialism”, not of a “dualism” in the USA (and probably the same situation is in other advanced economies). Lance Taylor writes: “The main income sources of the top 1% of households are from capital gains, proprietors’ incomes, interest, and dividends. Including capital gains they have a 50+ % saving rate, and 40% of total wealth. Households between the 60th and 99th percentiles get 70% of their income from wages, ~10% each from fiscal transfers, finance, and proprietors’ incomes. They save less than 10%, and hold 60% of wealth (mostly housing). The bottom 60% get almost 50% of income from wages, and 45% from government transfers. They have negative reported saving (true for other OECD economies), and a negligible wealth.” The interactions of these three classes (assuming that these trends continue) are important for the overall dynamics or stagnation of the economy. The interactions determine also the crises to be anticipated. Therefore, the Edinburgh Conference discussed which type of policies could prevent the spread of dual or trial economies and the emergence of severe crises in the future (proposed interventions mentioned were: innovative enterprises to achieve sustained prosperity; wealth creation through state entrepreneurship; new policies for redistribution of wealth and income; a guaranteed minimum income plus a commitment of the society to full employment; gender-related policies to combat the dualism and trialism; etc.). Reforms to get out of the “high income trap” are possible, but the “policy paralysis” has to be overcome.

Professor Wohlmuth had the opportunity to participate as a guest observer at the conference in Edinburgh by invitation of INET. The participation at the conference opens new avenues for the work in development economics, but also in regard of international economic policy. The dual/trial economy approach as applied to advanced economies is also helpful to understand the rise of the populists all over the world, the danger of democratic collapses, and the decline of the Social Democratic Movement in Europe. Professor Karl Wohlmuth has written a Note on the reasons for the decline of the Social Democrats in Germany, which is based on the dualism/trialism concept and which is also relevant for an understanding of the decline of Social Democratic Parties in other countries of the Eurozone.

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15.08.2017
“Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa" – this is the title of two forthcoming volumes of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook

“Science, Technology and Innovation Policies for Inclusive Growth in Africa" – this is the title of two forthcoming volumes of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook which are prepared now by a group of international experts. The Editorial Committee of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook has decided to split the scheduled volume 20 (for 2018) into two volumes, the volume 20 (for 2018) and the volume 21 (for 2019). This was considered as advisable because of the great number of high quality submissions of manuscripts to the Editors. While Volume 20 will consider Basic Issues of STI (Science, Technology and Innovation) policies in Africa and Country Cases for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Volume 21 will present Issues of Human Resources Development in the Digital Age, Country Cases for North Africa, and Book Reviews and Book Notes.

In Volume 20 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook essays on the linkages of inclusive growth, sustainable development and STI policies will be presented in the Introductory Unit. Also successful cases of STI development in Africa and STI systemic issues will be analysed. Focus countries are Sudan and Nigeria. Professor Samia Satti Nour, Khartoum University, Sudan and Professor Reuben A. Alabi, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Nigeria and currently Guest Researcher at IWIM/University of Bremen, were nominated as co-editors of the Units on Sudan and Nigeria and as Volume Editors; both have accepted the invitation. UNESCO Regional Science Policy Adviser Hassan Nazar, UNESCO Cairo Office, Egypt will be the co-editor of the Unit on Basic Issues of STI policies in Africa.

For Volume 21 (2019) essays are prepared for a Unit on Human Resources Development in Africa in the Digital Age, based on case studies for Cameroon and Nigeria. Country cases in North Africa are Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria. As usual, a strong Unit on Book Reviews and Book Notes rounds up the Volume 21. Again, UNESCO Regional Science Policy Adviser Hassan Nazar, UNESCO Office Cairo, Egypt will be the co-editor of the Unit on North Africa. Professor Achim Gutowski is again responsible for the Unit with Book Reviews and Book Notes. Professor Tobias Knedlik as the Managing Editor and Professor Karl Wohlmuth as the Scientific Co-ordinator are the other volume editors for the two forthcoming issues.

The African Development Perspectives Yearbook has over the decades - the first volume has appeared in 1989 – become the major English-language publication on Africa in Germany. The response to the  annual International Calls for Papers is huge, with an increasing interest on the side of African experts and experts from international and regional African organisations. UNCTAD/ Geneva, UNESCO/ Cairo, and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF)/Nairobi, Kenya are the institutional cooperation partners for these two volumes. UNECA in Kigali, Rwanda has organized the book launch for the volumes 18 and 19 of the African Development  Perspectives Yearbook in October 2016. This was a great event, with TV appearances in 48 African countries. The Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen, which is editing the Yearbook, is also involved in researches, advisory work, and training activities. In 2019 the Research Group will celebrate the “30 years birthday ceremony” of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook.

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15.08.2017
25. Internationales Wirtschafts-, Wissenschafts- und Werteforum, 11. – 13. Oktober 2017 in der Bremischen Bürgerschaft und im Rathaus zu Bremen

Das 25. Internationale Wirtschafts-, Wissenschafts- und Werteforum findet vom 11.-13. Oktober 2017 in der Bremischen Bürgerschaft und im Rathaus zu Bremen statt. Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für angewandte Wissenschaften e. V. (DGAW) veranstaltet ihre 25. internationale wissenschaftliche Tagung zum Thema "Strategische Perspektiven 2050 – Europa im Spannungsfeld geopolitischer, geoökonomischer, geotechnologischer und geokultureller Entwicklungen". Gerade in Zeiten wachsender Globalisierungsskepsis und -kritik ist es wichtig, die neuen Herausforderungen an die Gestaltung der Globalisierung zu thematisieren. Professor Karl Wohlmuth wird im Themenbereich "Geoökonomische Entwicklungen" einen Vortrag zu den Perspektiven der globalen Armutsbekämpfung halten (vgl. PDF DGAW-WWW) halten: Über die Ergebnisse der 24. internationalen Tagung wurde ein Tagungsband mit einer Auswahl von Vorträgen veröffentlicht, herausgegeben von Professor Dr. Heinz-Jürgen Scheibe (vgl. PDF DGAW-Band 12). Der Beitrag von Professor Karl Wohlmuth zu den Perspektiven der Welternährung ist in dem Band enthalten.

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15.08.2017
40 Jahre Demokratische Arabische Republik Sahara – DARS

Aus der Mitteilung der Bremischen Bürgerschaft zur Festveranstaltung am Freitag, 26. Februar 2016, um 15 Uhr (Link: https://www.bremische-buergerschaft.de/index.php?id=509&tx_cal_controller%5Bview%5D=event&tx_cal_controller%5Btype%5D=tx_cal_phpicalendar&tx_cal_controller%5Buid%5D=3652&tx_cal_controller%5Blastview%5D=view-month%7Cpage_id-512&tx_cal_controller%5Byear%5D=2016&tx_cal_controller%5Bmonth%5D=02&tx_cal_controller%5Bday%5D=26&cHash=ea1855867b354fe44ba01869bae69d6a):

Seit über 40 Jahren hoffen die Menschen in der West-Sahara auf ein Leben in einem unabhängigen Staat. Nach der Gründung des Exilstaates Demokratische Arabische Republik Sahara (DARS) am 27. Februar 1976 führte die Frente Polisario einen bewaffneten Kampf gegen Marokko. Hunderttausende Sahrauis flohen; in West-Algerien nahe der Grenzstadt Tindouf leben in vier großen Lagern rund 160.000 Menschen. 1991 kam es zu einem Waffenstillstand gegen die Zusage, über das Selbstbestimmungsrecht der Sahrauis mit einem UN-geführten Referendum zu entscheiden. Die UN-Friedensmission MINURSO wurde damit 1992 beauftragt. Bis heute ist den Sahrauis das Referendum verweigert worden. Mit einer Festveranstaltung will die Bremische Bürgerschaft zusammen mit dem biz – Bremer Informationszentrum für Menschenrechte und Entwicklung und dem Verein Freiheit für die Westsahara an den 40. Jahrestag der Gründung des Exilstaates erinnern und für das Referendum werben. Christian Weber, Präsident der Bremischen Bürgerschaft und Schirmherr des Kuratoriums des Vereins Freiheit für die Westsahara, lädt herzlich zur Festveranstaltung im Festsaal des Hauses der Bürgerschaft ein.

Seither hat sich die Lage der Sahrauis zumindest politisch erheblich verändert. Der Europäische Gerichtshof hat festgestellt, dass Handelsabkommen zwischen der EU und Marokko nicht die Westsahara einschließen (vgl. die Stellungnahme der einflussreichen amerikanischen Juristenvereinigung: PDF DARS-Frente Polisario). Aus der Stellungnahme der amerikanischen Juristen “Western Sahara is not part of the Kingdom of Morocco the European Union Court of Justice says”: “On 21 December 2016, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided that the Association agreement and the Liberalisation agreement between the EU and Morocco was not applicable to Western Sahara.” Es geht nun darum, den Kampf für die Erlangung der staatlichen Unabhängigkeit der West-Sahara zu verstärken. Die diesbezüglichen Initiativen des Vereins Freiheit Für Die Westsahara e. V. (vgl. dazu den regelmäßig erscheinenden Newsletter: PDF 2017 _06 Newsletter) sind international vernetzt und zeigen Wirkung.

Professor Karl Wohlmuth beschäftigt sich seit 2016 mit dem Wirtschaftspotential der West-Sahara und hat vorgeschlagen, eine von der Frente Polisario veranstaltete internationale Wirtschaftskonferenz West-Sahara abzuhalten, um das Wirtschaftspotential der West-Sahara und die Möglichkeiten der Nutzung dieses Potentials für die Bevölkerung der West-Sahara aufzuzeigen. Eine Skizze dazu liegt vor.

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15.08.2017
Hochrangige chinesische Delegation aus der Provinz Tianjin informiert sich über Strategien der Innovation und der industriellen Entwicklung in Deutschland (Montag, 4. 7. bis Montag, 11. 7. 2016, IGC Hochschule Bremen)

Das International Graduate Center (IGC) der Hochschule Bremen bietet seit Jahren erfolgreich Weiterbildungen für Mitarbeiter chinesischer Unternehmen sowie von Landes- und Kommunalverwaltungen an. Professor Karl Wohlmuth hat an einigen dieser Veranstaltungen als Referent teilgenommen. Auch zu dieser Veranstaltung ist Professor Wohlmuth eingeladen, um Vorträge zu Innovationsstrategien in Bremen und Deutschland zu halten. Interessensschwerpunkte der Expertengruppe aus der Provinz Tianjin sind: Gegenwärtiger Zustand und Entwicklungsprozesse der deutschen Fertigungsindustrie; Industrie 4.0 in Deutschland; und Erfahrungen mit  Methoden der Umstrukturierung und Modernisierung der Industrie in Deutschland. Professor Wohlmuth hat bisher in dem Programm zu Fragen der Nationalen Innovationssysteme in Deutschland und Bremen im Vergleich zu den Nationalen Innovationssystemen in der VR China und in deren Provinzen referiert; auch über langfristige Innovationsstrategien in Deutschland und in China hat Professor Wohlmuth berichtet (vgl. dazu den Link: http://www.iwim.uni-bremen.de/forschung/forsch-china.htm).

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14.12.2016
Launch Event in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2016: Book Launches in the Kigali Convention Centre for Volumes 18 and 19 of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook
UNECA (United Nations Economic Commission for Africa) and the University of Bremen (Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen) will launch the two recent volumes of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook in a three days ceremony in Kigali, Rwanda (see Launch of Yearbook). Speakers from the United Nations (UNECA, UNESCO, UNCTAD), from the Government of Rwanda (Ministry of EAC Integration, Central Bank of Rwanda), from Universities in Rwanda, Representatives from Media, Authors of the two editions, and the Management Staff of the Research Group on African Development Perspectives Bremen will launch in their statements the new volumes (see the Flyers: Wohlmuth Cover Band 18 and Cover Volume 19).

A Press Conference on Day One, a Scientific Workshop on Day Two, Visits to present the volumes at the Universities in Kigali and a Visit to the Genocide Memorial on Day Three are part of the programme (see the Preliminary Programme of the Launch Event as a Launch of Yearbook). Ms. Valentine Rugwabiza, Minister of East African Community Integration, Republic of Rwanda, will give the Keynote Presentation to launch the new editions of the African Development Perspectives Yearbook. Various Staff from the Ministry will have official functions in the event. Andrew Mold, Acting Director, UNECA for Eastern Africa, the Mastermind of the Event, will lead through the Event. Professor Karl Wohlmuth, Director of the Research Group on African Development Perspectives, intends to publish a Documentation following the event in Kigali, Rwanda.
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14.12.2016
How The Military And Other Armed Groups Profit In The MENA Region, with a Case Study on Sudan

A new study edited by Elke Grawert and Zeinab Abul-Magd highlights the role of “Businessmen in Arms” for the MENA region (including countries such as Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, Iran, Jordan, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and Syria). The comparative study was published by Rowman & Littlefield (See Contents and Cover). The contribution on Sudan was done by Professor Atta El-Battahani, a long-term co-operator of  IWIM during the years of IWIM’s “Governance and Social Action in Sudan” project. The project lasted over five years and was supported by the Volkswagen Foundation; it was directed by Karl Wohlmuth and Elke Grawert. Elke Grawert is now Senior Researcher with BICC/Bonn International Center for Conversion in Bonn and Senior Lecturer at the University of Bonn (Link: https://www.bicc.de/about/staff/staffmember/member/46-grawert/ ). In this book the role of military businesses, the economic interests of retired military officers, and the web of funding of non-state armed groups in these countries are analysed.

In the chapter on Sudan, a broad historical overview of the interactions between military and businesses is presented and the political consequences of the transformation of the Sudanese Armed Forces  (SAF) are outlined. The role of the military in the various political regimes and phases of development in Sudan (up to the oil export economy since 1999 and the South Sudan separation in 2011) are presented. See the excerpts from the contribution by Professor Atta El-Battahani in the book (Link) and the related short study “The Sudan Armed Forces and Prospects of Change” which was worked out for CMI/Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen (Link: https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/5790-the-sudan-armed-forces-and-prospects-of-change.pdf ). The “CMI Insight” concludes that the current regime has led to ambiguous effects with regard to SAF; it expanded SAF’s role in the economy and in business, while at the same time it weakened it as a professional army. The consequence is that these features make predicting which role the military may take in political affairs of Sudan in the future very difficult.

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06.07.2016
“Aviation in Africa” & 13th Aviation Student Research Workshop
30th June to 2nd July 2016, Bremen



In cooperation with Airneth, G.A.R.S. and the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, the Centre for Public Management (zep) of the City University of Applied Sciences Bremen (HSB) hosts the First Workshop on Aviation in Africa and the Annual G.A.R.S. Student Research Workshop. Professor Karl Wohlmuth will give a presentation on “New Growth and Poverty Alleviation Strategies – Spatial Development Matters” in the Session I “New Strategies for Inclusive Economic Growth in Africa I” on Thursday, June 30th 2016, 9:15 – 10:45, Venue: City University AS Bremen, Werderstraße 73. Professor Wohlmuth will also participate at Session V: Panel Discussion: Air Transport and Inclusive Growth for Africa; the panelists are: Robert Kappel (GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg), Karl Wohlmuth (University of Bremen), Ken Button (George Mason University), and Nicole Adler (Hebrew University). The Panel will be chaired by Ofelia Betancor, Univer. de Las Palmas. See the Programme Details: PDF Preliminary Bremen Workshop Programme

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