Africa has the largest interregional differences in inequality in the world. This summer school delved into the foundational factors that underlie and give rise to inequality, poverty, and deprivation on the continent. While these underlying causes are intricate and multifaceted, often varying across different contexts, certain common factors persist. The summer school dealt  with: 

  • The historical determinants of inequality; 
  • Financial inclusion; 
  • (Gender) inequality;
  • Political dynamics and their impact on inequality
  • Data availability to conduct empirical analysis on the roots of inequality in Africa; and 
  • The normative perspectives on inequality.

This was the first summer school of the newly established Cluster of Research Excellence in Inequality, Poverty, and Deprivation (CoRE IPD). The five-day school contained interactive lectures by the partners in the CoRE IPD, including the University of Cape Town; University of Ghana; University of Nairobi; and the University of Groningen.

The academic coordinators of the summer school were Prof. Damiano K. Manda (University of Nairobi), Prof. Robert Lensink (University of Groningen), Prof. Robert D. Osei (University of Ghana), and Prof. Murray Leibbrandt (University of Cape Town).

Research master degree students, PhD candidates, postdoctoral fellows and researchers benefitted from attending. Upon completion, participants can discuss recent developments on the roots of inequality, poverty, and deprivation in Africa; and write surveys about the drivers of inequality, poverty, and deprivation in Africa.