Sam Jones at IESE conference 2022

The 2022 conference of the Institute for Social and Economic Studies (IESE) focused on the topic of ‘Conflict, Violence and Development’. Held in Maputo, Mozambique, in hybrid mode on 19–21 September, the event brought together local and international academics to discuss recent research on topics ranging from the role of monetary and fiscal policies, labour and social reproduction in creating crises to the dynamics of violence in Northern Mozambique.

Sam Jones, UNU-WIDER Research Fellow and Resident Advisor of the Inclusive growth in Mozambique (IGM) programme based at the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Mozambique (MEF), participated in the conference on 19 September by sharing recent IGM research on the link between colonial-era institutions and the profitability of firms in Mozambique. Focusing on Sena Sugar Estates in Portuguese East Africa (today’s Mozambique), the study shows that the firm’s profitability was highly dependent on sustained access to cheap labour, but less so on trade preferences. In his presentation, Jones further highlighted that the reliance on the profitability forced labour was associated with lower total productivity of the firms.

The discussion that followed Jones’ presentation focused on the implications for patterns of industrialization in today’s Mozambique.