Mauritius’ researchers and policy makers undergo training on Economic Commission for Africa (ECA’s) forecasting and policy simulation tool

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The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in collaboration with Maurice Stratégie, convened a training workshop in Port Louis from 11 – 14 July for researchers and policy makers in Mauritius on the use of a macroeconomic modelling tool designed by ECA to support member states in forecasting and policy simulation.

Maurice Stratégie a newly established think tank for the Government of Mauritius operationalized under the country’s Economic Development Board (EDB) aims to be the leading source of data-driven evidence based socio-economic reports and insights to shape the country’s policies for inclusive and sustainable economic development. Its key thematic areas include economics and modelling, digital and green transitions, public policy, labour and employment and sectoral development. In support of the key thematic area of economics and modelling, ECA, through its Macroeconomic Governance and Policy Division (MGD), has been working with Maurice Stratégie to customize the ECA macroeconomic model for Mauritius and provide capacity building support for the effective use of the tool.

In his opening remarks, Hopestone Chavula, Economic Affairs Officer, MGD, thanked the government of Mauritius for inviting ECA to train researchers and policy makers on the use of ECA Macroeconomic model. He noted that economic models are pertinent in assisting policymakers to make evidence-based decisions especially under continuous and persistent global shocks.

“So far, MGD has provided capacity support training to 15 countries in modelling, model customization and evidence-based policy simulations. ECA will continue to support Maurice Stratégie to ensure the efficacy and sustainability of the model's utilisation, as well as technical and policy support in the formulation, implementation, and monitoring of policies in Mauritius,” said Chavula.

Staff at the Maurice Stratégie welcomed the support and capacity building efforts from the ECA and emphasized the need for further collaboration in the areas of poverty analysis, inflation and the output gap. One of the main areas where Maurice Stratégie envisages to utilize the ECA model is in the formulation of its National Investment Strategy.

The training consists of 15 officials, with 4 men and 11 women from Maurice Strategie, EDB, and Statistics Mauritius.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).