The African School of Economics (ASE) is a private university headquartered in Abomey-Calavi (near Cotonou), Republic of Benin.

It is the expansion of the Institute for Empirical Research in Political Economy (IERPE, IREEP in French), founded in 2004, into a full-fledged pan-African university.

[1] The school is a continuation of the success of the Institute of Empirical Research in Political Economy ( IERPE) founded by Leonard Wantchekon in 2004 in Cotonou, Benin.

[2] Since its inception, the Institute has expanded its activities to include a successful Masters of Public Economics and Applied Statistics (MEPSA).

Its pioneer cohort of 200 students from across the country, was a product of a joint scholarship effort between itself, AUDA-NEPAD, and the office of Nigeria’s First Lady - Senator Oluremi Tinubu.