African School of Economics

The African School of Economics (ASE) is a private university headquartered in Abomey-Calavi (near Cotonou), Republic of Benin.

It is the expansion of the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IERPE, IREEP in French), founded in 2004, into a full-fledged pan-African university. Faculty members come from top universities in the US, Canada and Europe. Currently (2016) it offers four graduate programs at master's level: Master in Mathematics, Economics and Statistics (MMES), Master in Business Administration (MBA), Master in Public Administration (MPA) and Master in Development Economics (MDE). ASE also offers a PhD program in Economics and two Certificate Programs, Impact Evaluation and Quantitative Finance.

History
The school is a continuation of the success of the Institute of Empirical Research in Political Economy (IERPE) founded by Leonard Wantchekon in 2004 in Cotonou, Benin. A nonprofit training and research initiative in Political Economy and Applied Statistics, IERPE provides expertise in public policy and trains executives for the public and private sector in West Africa. The opening ceremony took place on August 29, 2014. Since its inception, the Institute expanded its activities to include a successful Masters of Public Economics and Applied Statistics (MEPSA). The MEPSA has had 74 African graduates, all of whom are in high demand in the West African region: more than 75% of the graduates of the classes of 2006-2009 are employed in research centers throughout West Africa, in the World Bank and in different governments. The MEPSA program is accredited by the Ministry of Education in Benin.

ASE aims to meet the urgent need for an academic institution capable of generating the necessary human capital in Africa. Although the region has seen significant improvements in primary and secondary education in the past few decades there is still a pressing need for advanced education centers. Through its PhD programs, ASE hopes to provide the missing African voice in many Africa-related academic debates. Furthermore, through the Master in Business Administration (MBA), Master in Public Administration (MPA), Executive MBA and MPA (EMBA and EMPA), Master in Mathematics, Economics and Statistics (MMES), and Master in Development Studies (MDS) programs, ASE aims to provide the technical capacity that will enable more Africans to be hired into top management positions in development agencies and multinational corporations operating on the continent. This should foster sustainable hiring practices that will retain talent and experience in Africa.

Academic partnerships

 * 1) American University in Cairo, Egypt
 * 2) Barcelona Graduate School of Economics, Spain
 * 3) BEM Dakar – Bordeaux Management School, Senegal
 * 4) Center for Economic Research and Teaching (CIDE), (Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas), Mexico
 * 5) HEC Montréal, Canada
 * 6) Institut de Mathématiques et de Sciences Physiques (IMSP) at University of Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Benin
 * 7) The Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance (JRCPPF), Princeton University, USA
 * 8) Laval University, Canada
 * 9) New Economic School, Russia
 * 10) Princeton University, USA
 * 11) Toulouse School of Economics, France
 * 12) Universidad del Desarrollo, Chile
 * 13) University of Namur - FUNDP Belgium
 * 14) University of Ottawa, Canada

Media coverage

 * Léonard Wantchékon: Faire preuve d’un optimisme vigilant. Afrika7, July 2016
 * Dr. Leonard Wanchekon interviewed by magazine Jeune Afrique, July 2014.
 * Dr. Leonard Wantchekon presents ASE in an interview at BBC Radio, December 2013.
 * ASE co-hosted a special event "Who Will Lead the African Development Bank?" with The Institute of Economic Affairs, Ghana in Accra and the Center for Global Development in Washington DC. The event, featuring seven of eight candidates, focused on key issues regarding the future of the institution.