Until a few years ago, applied economic research in Germany was mainly concerned with the industrial countries and their economic growth. Then the problems of the developing countries in Africa, Asia, and South America moved into the forefront of economic research programmes conducted both in the universities and by independent institutes. In 1961, the I.F.O. Institut für Writschaftsforschung (Institute for Economic Research) in Munich, the largest institute of its kind in Germany, which has more than 80 scientifically trained collaborators, set up the Afrika-Studienstelle to investigate the problems of economic development in tropical Africa.