Workshop

Institutional Diagnostics in Mozambique: Author’s Workshop

On 26 November, the Inclusive Growth in Mozambique Programme held a workshop joining together the key authors contributing to the Mozambique Institutional Diagnostic (MID) project. The MID is integrated in a research initiative called Economic Development & Institutions (EDI) and will contribute to the development of an institutional diagnostic tool, building on previous country pilots. It also constitutes the focus inquiry for 2020 of the Inclusive Growth in Mozambique Programme.

The central goal of the Authors’ Workshop was to discuss the draft ideas for different thematic studies that will be produced as part of this project. The event provided an opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions, as well as to openly discuss work in progress. The topics ranged from education to agriculture, and from economic sector to decentralization, among others. In addition to the authors and co-authors, the event hosted commentators and members of the project team.

The workshop started with a presentation of the overview of the Project, including the stages that have already been completed and the main insights derived from them, after which the authors proceeded to present their draft work. Each presentation was followed by feedback from a previously assigned commentator, as well as by questions and feedback from the audience.

 

About the EDI Institutional Diagbostic Tool (IDT)

One of the objectives of the EDI Programme is to design an EDI Institutional Diagnostic tool. The methodology for designing this tool relies on in-depth case studies of a select group of countries, aimed at comprehensively exploring the relationship between the characteristics and functioning of a country’s institutions and its economic development performance and constraints. The study carried out in Mozambique will build on the methodology developed for Tanzania, Benin and Bangladesh, incorporating lessons from each.

Together with other ongoing EDI research, EDI Institutional Diagnostic Tool (IDT) aims at contributing to the development of a set of diagnostic tools and guidelines that could be of standard application to other developing countries.  The goal is to equip analysts and policy-makers with a framework that will allow them to identify appropriate and effective directions for institutional reforms, which will support the promotion of economic growth.

The “institutional diagnostic” tool was originally inspired by the “growth diagnostic” tools developed by Hausmann, Rodrik and Velasco, but is meant to go beyond this by revealing the causal links between basic areas of institutional weakness and their causes on the one hand, and the structure and pace of development on the other. In this research endeavour, “institutions” are broadly defined as the “formal or informal rules of the game expected to be followed, individually and collectively, by political, social and economic actors”. As such, they touch upon a variety of areas – political, judicial, economic, cultural, religious, etc.