Foreword

Over the past twenty-five years, the African Development Bank, through its project financing activity and more recently, through policy-based lending and policy dialogue with regional member countries has sought, as mandated, to promote ‘the economic development and social progress ofits regional member countries - individually and jointly’. As the role ofthe Bank has expanded over the years, development strategies have been refined and a wide range of new initiatives has been undertaken. Indeed, the Bank, recognizing that the devel- opment process extends beyond project lending, has long ago embraced the idea that a vitally important parallel feature of the development process is the fostering of an intellectual climate conducive to the reexamination of old paradigms and to the search for new solutions to the problems which confront this region. The launching of the African Development Review is a further practical manifestation of this idea and reinforces our committment to the widest dissemination of ideas on the social and economic development of Africa.

The main focus of the Review will therefore be on development policy issues generally with particular reference to Africa. It is viewed primarily as a forum for open and wide-ranging discussion of policy research and analysis drawn from within the Bank as well as from the wider international professional community. In our continuing search for effective policies to accelerate econ- omic growth and reduce poverty, one of the Review’s major objectives will be to facilitate closer interaction between those scholars and policy practitioners, both within and outside Africa, whose aim it is to advance the economic and social development of the region. We hope that, effectively, the African Devel- opinent Review will contribute to the expansion of the market-place for ideas on Africa, from which market-place and from which ideas will flow practical solutions to the many challenges faced by our continent.

As can be judged from the articles in this first issue, policy relevance and methodological balance will be key criteria upon which articles will be selected for publication. Although the Review will not shy away from technical discus- sions, we shall always ensure that the underlying economic logic and practical policy implications are given the prominence they deserve.

On this twenty-fifth anniversary of the African Development Bank, it is my hope that the Review will serve over the coming years, as a useful complement to other long-standing activities of the Bank.

Babacar NDIAYE President

African Development Bank