Professor Victor Murinde, on behalf of the Centre for Global Finance and the SFM department at SOAS University of London, participated as a panellist in "Session 3: International Finance, debt sustainability and managing capital flows", at the 12th Annual JRCPPF Conference on "Catalyzing Macroeconomic Policy for Development in sub-Saharan Africa", held on 23-24 February at the Julis-Rabinowitz Centre for Public Policy and Finance at Princeton University.

Drawing from his ongoing research on managing capital flows, Murinde shared three main insights. First, new evidence that credit market conditions in developed countries are transmitted to credit markets in developing countries via commodity price cycles rather than the traditional channels. Second, he argues that macroprudential policy can reduce the virility of credit market shocks if regulators in developing countries deploy specific tools for: dampening credit cycles; reducing foreign exposures; and preserving the safety of financial institutions. Third, he tabled new evidence that the effects of capital flows on productivity growth in Africa depend on the recipient sectors in a heterogenous way, hence SSA countries may wish to design policy incentives to prioritise some key sectors for foreign private capital inflows. 

The other panellists in Session 3 were:

• Chris Canavan, Managing Partner, Lions Head Global Capital

• Jill Dauchy, Founder and CEO, Potomac Group

• Aart Kraay, Director of Development Policy in the Development Economics Vice Presidency and Deputy Chief Economist, The World Bank Group

• Layna Mosley, Professor of Politics and International Affairs, Princeton University (moderator).

The keynote speakers were Vera Songwe, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Liquidity & Sustainability Facility (LSF) and co-Chair of the High-Level Panel on Climate Finance, and Abhijit Banerjee, the 2019 Nobel Laureate for Economics and Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at MIT. The conference brought together pre-eminent researchers, policy experts, and market practitioners from across the globe to exchange ideas and shed new light on the most pressing economic issues of our time. The conference also gave young researchers and PhD students exposure to diverse viewpoints as well as opportunities to interact with leading academics and policymakers.

The thematic focus of the conference was to explore the macroeconomic policies sub-Saharan African countries should pursue to support development, growth, and long-term economic resilience. Four areas that will be critical for catalyzing macroeconomic development were explored: industrial policy; monetary and fiscal policies; macroprudential regulations and managing capital flows; and regional integration.

Conference Videos

For more information and presentation slides, please visit: https://jrc.princeton.edu/annual-conference/2023