In the global policy arena, there is continuous vibrant debate among academics, policy makers and politicians on macroeconomic issues ranging from the causes and implications of rising oil and food prices to recessions to growing budget shortfalls. Although African countries often suffer the most severe consequences of economic management, public debate on annual macroeconomic performance remains almost non-existent.

The MEM program provides a forum for debate on macroeconomic management of African economies by periodically reviewing the macroeconomic performance of selected African economies. Its initial focus is on Nigeria, and will gradually expand to include other African countries.

Some of the outputs of this program are:

 - Analysis reports and public discussion of draft budgets, examining issues such as revenue management and sectoral priorities for poverty alleviation.

 - Periodic reports on macroeconomic performance covering growth, inflation, balance of payments as well as the fiscal, monetary and exchange rate policy mix.