The Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE)

Founded in 2002, the Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE - pronounced "wah-gah-pay") brings together west coast-based faculty and advanced graduate students in Political Science and Economics who combine deep field research experience in Africa with training in political economy methods. The group meets semi-annually to discuss the work-in-progress of its regular members and invited guests. It is co-led by Daniel Posner (Department of Political Science, UCLA) and Edward Miguel (Department of Economics, UC Berkeley).

WGAPE meetings begin with a lunch on Friday and end after dinner on Saturday. Meetings are built around in-depth discussions of seven or eight papers (see the archive of papers discussed at past WGAPE meetings). The emphasis is on discussion rather than presentation, and members are encouraged to present work in progress on which they would like feedback from the group.

Papers presented at WGAPE meetings have been published in many of the leading journals in Political Science and Economics, including the Journal of Political Economy, the American Political Science Review, the Journal of African Economies, World Politics, African Affairs, the Journal of Economic Perspectives, the Review of Economic Studies, and the Review of African Political Economy, as well as in several edited volumes.