Harnessing Human Capital for Growth and Development in Kenya

Date: Monday, June 30, 2025

Organizers: Yale Economic Growth Center, Yale Inclusion Economics

Location: Nairobi, Kenya (Venue TBC)

Registration: Register to attend in person here

The Yale Economic Growth Center (EGC) and Inclusion Economics at Yale University (YIE) will convene a research and policy dialogue in Nairobi, Kenya on June 30, 2025, in which we will discuss how macroeconomic transformation and growth strategies interact with gender gaps globally and in sub-Saharan Africa, how investing in early childhood development can boost human capital and women’s socioeconomic advancement in Kenya, how policies and programs can be effectively scaled - including the integration of time use data in policymaking and processes to assess fiscal investments and returns - and how we can boost the digital economy through equal participation.

A growing body of evidence shows that sidelining women from the labor market can be costly, and that macroeconomic productivity can suffer in labor markets where women’s talents and skills are not matched to suitable opportunities. Whilst the national development strategies of East African countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania, do have a strong focus on gender issues through the lenses of vulnerability, gender-based violence (GBV), family, access to services and benefits, and sometimes labor markets, they tend not to treat addressing gender gaps in labor markets as an issue that is relevant to macroeconomic policy and growth.

Yale Economic Growth Center (EGC) and Yale Inclusion Economics (YIE) are hosting a dialogue that will bring together macro- and microeconomic perspectives to shed light both on the relationship between gender gaps and economic transformation and pathways to understand and address underlying barriers in the modern economy. The event seeks to facilitate exchange among researchers, policymakers, and the private sector on how rigorous evidence can inform strategies to drive economic transformation through the closure of gender gaps in the region and in Kenya. The event will feature work conducted by EGC through the Gender and Growth Gaps project on gendered labor market distortions, by YIE on digital inclusion, and by a joint EGC-YIE project focused on expanding childcare by extending access to enhanced public preschools for younger children, while bringing in peers to discuss policies and programs at scale, including time use data in policymaking and assessing fiscal investments and returns. The event will showcase a variety of partnerships between universities, government counterparts and the private sector, and provide an opportunity for policymakers and practitioners to engage with evidence and discuss their work to drive human capital investments and gender equality in the region.

The sessions will cover the following topics:

• Gender Equality, Economic Growth & Development
• Enhancing Child Development and Women’s Socioeconomic Advancement through Expanding Public Preschool: Insights from Research and Policy
• Data, Programs, Policies and Implementation - Enabling successful ideas to scale
• Engagement in the Rising Digital Economy
• Keynote Dialogue: Universities, Government and the Private Sector: Partnerships and Pathways from Research to Impact