It is with great sadness that the United Nations University announces the death of Professor Benno Ndulu, Chair of the Advisory Board of the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). Prof. Ndulu, who passed away on 22 February 2021 at the age of 71, was a long-time collaborator and friend of the institute.
While his role as Chair of the UNU-WIDER Advisory Board had brought him closer than ever in recent years, constantly engaged and providing valuable advice, he had been involved with the institute since 1986, working on the Stabilization and adjustment policies and programmes project, contributing to the seminal book The Rocky Road to Reform, and co-authoring three other UNU-WIDER books. He also participated in many UNU-WIDER events over the years, including as a keynote speaker at the Learning to L2C – Learning to Compete conference in 2013.
Prof. Ndulu will be remembered for not only his highly respected publications, his time as Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania (2008–2018) and as Lead Economist at the World Bank, along with his legacy of establishing and developing the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) think tank, but also for his work as a teacher and mentor to young African scholars.
He served as the first African Executive Director of the AERC, and prior to that was the first AERC Director of Research. As Governor of the Central Bank of Tanzania, he is credited with implementing prudent policies and overseeing macroeconomic stabilisation that have underpinned Tanzania’s strong economic performance.
Prof. Ndulu held a doctorate from Northwestern University (USA), and previously taught economics at the University of Dar es Salaam. His research and teaching work covered macroeconomics, regional integration, trade, and investments.
For more, see the tribute page to Prof. Ndulu on the UNU-WIDER website.