AFRICA MEETING OF THE ECONOMETRIC SOCIETY (AFES) 2021

The Africa Meeting of the Econometric Society, AFES 2021 will be held at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée (ENSEA) from 3 to 5 June 2021.

The keynote speakers in alphabetical order are:

James Heckman (University of Chicago, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics – 2000)
Kirabo Jackson (Northwestern University)
Lisa Cook (Michigan State University)
Manuel Arellano (CEMFI, Madrid)
Pascaline Dupas (Stanford University)
Pinelopi Goldberg (Yale University) will deliver the Presidential Address
Yaw Nyarko (New York University)

Manuel Arellano (CEMFI, Madrid) will lead the Marschak Fund Conference at the Summer University on 2 June 2021.

Important information

VISA

All participants coming from countries where there is an embassy of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire are strongly encouraged to take their visa in their country before departure. Otherwise, apply for the visa online (Contact e-visa airport: (00225) 05 54 36 29 15 available 24 hours a day – https://snedai.com/e-visa/

After registration and online payment of fees, a biometric e-visa is issued on arrival at Abidjan International Airport. The visa is valid from 1 to 3 months.

Participants arriving in Côte d’Ivoire must go through the usual police and customs formalities. In addition to travel documents (passport, visa or identity card for nationals of WAEMU countries), the vaccination record must be carried. Only the yellow fever vaccine is compulsory.

Participants should have the invitation letter for the meeting with them.

AIRPORT PICK-UP

All participants will be met from the airport to the hotel by ENSEA drivers. For all other travel, use red or white taxis.

HOTEL

All participants hosted by ENSEA will be accommodated in hotels close to ENSEA (see list on the conference website), located in the Neighborhood of Cocody within a 10 minute drive. An overnight rate will be negotiated for all participants staying in these hotels. Click here to view the hotel list

CONFERENCE VENUE: ENSEA

The Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Statistique et d’Economie Appliquée (ENSEA) is located in Abidjan, Cocody, Avenue des Grandes Ecoles.

During the conference, an ENSEA bus will provide transport from the hotel to ENSEA in round trip (Departure from the Hotel: from 7.30 am – Departure from ENSEA: 6.30 pm).

LANGUAGE

The workshop will be conducted in French and English.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications at the hotel are relatively expensive. You can also buy a local chip for 500 FCFA or 1.000 F CFA depending on the operator (see stand at the airport). Telephone operators offer mobile and/or data packages.

Phone code: +225
Electrical current: 220-230 V, 50-60 Hz. (Bring an adapter if possible)

CURRENCY

The local currency is the CFA Franc (1 Euro = 655.957 F CFA). International credit cards are accepted at most banks in Abidjan. 24-hour ATMs are readily available in the city. Traveller’s cheques are accepted by the main banks in Abidjan.

HEALTH

The ENSEA infirmary will be available to administer first aid in case of illness.

HEALTH MEASURES

All passengers departing from or arriving in Abidjan must carry a negative COVID-19 test certificate dated no more than five days from the date of sampling.
Any traveller to Côte d’Ivoire who has taken the COVID-19 test will only have to pay the declaration fee of 2000 FCFA. Only travellers departing from Abidjan will pay the sum of 50,000 FCFA, of which 48,000 FCFA is for the COVID-19 test (RT-PCR screening test) and 2,000 FCFA (declaration certificate) for the declaration. Payment will be made via the online platform www.deplacement-aerien.gouv.ci
All departing, arriving and transiting passengers must complete the travel declaration form available online on www.deplacement-aerien.gouv.ci , print it and present it at check-in. It is recommended that each passenger has his/her own pen.
All passengers will have their body temperature checked.
For passengers departing from Abidjan, the COVID-19 certificates considered valid are only those issued by centres approved by the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene. These include: the Cocody Saint-Jean centre, Marcory centre, Yopougon BAE centre, Treichville centre (Infectious Diseases Department) and the Plateau-Sorbonne centre.
Passengers wishing to obtain their COVID-19 test results within 48 hours are advised to go to the approved sampling centres for travellers before 10:00 GMT each day.

WEATHER AND LOCAL TIME

Local time: Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Climate: The rains come from May to July for the main rainy season and from October to November for the short rainy season, the climate is rather pleasant but humid.

A sub-equatorial climate characterised by low temperature ranges (25°C to 30°C), high humidity (80 to 90%) and abundant rainfall, which reaches 1,766 mm3 in Abidjan. This area has two dry and two wet seasons. The long, hot dry season is interspersed with some rainfall and runs from December to April. The short dry season covers the months of August and September.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Conference Format: Hybrid – Both onsite and online participation/presentation will be allowed. All the presentations will be available on a virtual platform.

Conference Fees: Payment at https://editorialexpress.com/conference/AFES2021

Registration categories and pricing are covered in detail below:

a) Early registration: before April 23, 2021

Onsite participation:

Regular fees: US$ 250
Students’ fees: US$ 150

Online participation:

Presenters: Regular fees: US$ 150
Students’ fees: US$ 100
Non-presenter fees: US$ 50

b) Late registration: after April 23, 2021

Onsite participation:

Regular fees: US$ 300
Students’ fees: US$ 200

Online participation:

Presenters: Regular fees: US$ 200
Students’ fees: US$ 150
Non-presenter fees: US$ 50

AFRICA SUMMER SCHOOL IN ECONOMETRICS (ASSE) 2021: Prior to the Meeting, the 2021 Africa Summer School in Econometrics (ASSE) will be hosted by ENSEA from May 25, to June 2, 2021. This Summer School will feature the 2021 Marschak lecture that will take place on June 2, 2021 and delivered by Manuel Arellano (CEMFI, Madrid). The 2021 ASSE includes the following topics:

(i) Causal inference and policy evaluation for (Quasi) experimental data and Non-experimental data,
(ii) New developments on Panel data analysis methods,
(iii) Bootstrap Methods,
(iv) Financial Econometrics,
(v) Macroeconometrics: Time series.

Confirmed lecturers are (in alphabetical order):

Manuel Arellano (CEMFI, Madrid),
Matias Cattaneo (Princeton University),
Firmin Doko Tchatoka (University of Adelaide),
Pascaline Dupas (Stanford University),
Christian Gouriéroux (CREST, University of Toronto), and
Michael Jansson (University of California, Berkeley).

More information on the Summer School is available at https://www.africaeconometricsociety.com/

Financial Support:

Financial support will be available to young researchers from Africa who wish to present papers during the conference. The allocation of the grants will be on a competitive basis. The grants will partially cover travel and accommodation expenses for on-site participants.

Applications for grants should be sent to africa.es.2021@gmail.com by March 12, 2021 and should be accompanied by the applicant’s CV.
Selected applicants will be informed by March 22, 2021.

Programme Chairs:

Prosper Dovonon (Concordia University) and
Ismael Mourifié (University of Toronto)

Local Organizing Committee:

Hugues Kouadio (ENSEA),
Lewis Landry Gakpa (ENSEA), and
Fe Doukoure (ENSEA).

Programme Committee:

Atsu Amegashie (University of Guelph)
Illenin Kondo (University of Notre Dame)
Yves Atchadé (Boston University)
Romuald Méango (Max-Planck Institute)
Hafedh Bouakez (HEC, Montreal)
Césaire Meh (Bank of Canada)
Louphou Coulibaly (University of Pittsburgh)
Abdoulaye Ndiaye (New York University)
Habiba Djebbari (Aix-Marseille University)
Pierre Nguimkeu (Georgia State Univ.)
Antoine Djogbenou (York University)
Dozie Okoye (Dalhousie University)
Bruno Feunou (Bank of Canada)
Sophie Osotimehin (UQAM)
Robert Garlick (Duke University)
Roland Pongou (University of Ottawa)
Dalia Ghanem (University of California, Davis)
Modibo Sidibé (Duke University)
Ian Heffernan (African School of Economics)
Issouf Soumaré (Université Laval)
Désiré Kanga (Ensea, Abidjan)
Abderrahim Taamouti (Durham Univ.)
Désiré Kédagni (Iowa State University)
Roméo Tédongap (ESSEC, Paris)
Steve Koch (University of Pretoria)
Georges Tsafack (Univ. of Rhode Island)
Marlene Koffi (University of Toronto