Established in 1988, the African Economic Research Consortium is a capacity building institution to inform economic policies in sub-Saharan Africa. AERC has three primary components: research, training and policy outreach. The organization integrates economic policy research, postgraduate training and policy outreach within a network of researchers, universities and policy makers in Africa and worldwide. Research Programme The key components of the Research Programme are thematic and collaborative research projects, complemented by other capacity building initiatives. The programme approach aims to improve technical skills of local researchers, allow for regional determination of research priorities and strengthen national economic policy research institutions.