In this episode of Development Dialogues, host Catherine Chaney is joined by Max Bearak, Anant Sudarshan and Jessica Seddon to examine one of the most complex challenges in global development: how can the clean energy transition move f...

Vocational training programs are designed to boost employment in low- and middle-income countries — but often they fall short. In the fourth in our series of Development Dialogues, we examine the real impact of vocational training programs in l...

In this episode of Development Dialogues, Rory Stewart, Stefan Dercon, and Trudi Makhaya join host Catherine Cheney to discuss the challenges of evidence-based policy in an era where populism and narratives often outweigh facts. The conversatio...

In the second episode of Development Dialogues, our new series with VoxDevTalks, host Catherine Cheney is joined by Amit Khandelwal, Isabela Manelici and Arvind Subramanian to discuss the challenges that d...

Financing climate adaptation: What works, what doesn’t, and can carbon credits help to bridge the gap?In first episode of Development Dialogues, our new series with VoxDevTalks, host Ca...

Rising sea levels are already creating intersecting crises in Bangladesh, often described as “the ground zero of climate change." How can social scientists aid in the response? When economists Isl...

In Latin America, inequality has persisted despite major structural economic and social change. In order to help develop effective policies for a more equitable society, a new research initiative explores the causes and consequences of inequali...

Although women around the world have joined the labor market in rising numbers over the past several decades, the percentage of women in the labor force in India has declined, even while their education levels have risen and the country has exp...

​Much of the research on economic development in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa, is led by researchers who are outsiders to the regions they study. While this outsider perspective can help them see elements of the soci...

Despite the widespread acknowledgment of the potential for digital technologies to accelerate inclusive economic growth, not everyone has access to the mobile devices, internet connectivity, and affordable data they need to participate meaningf...

The vast majority of climate financing is directed towards mitigating, reducing, or preventing greenhouse gas emissions. However, there is a vital need for climate financing aimed at adaptation, protecting the lives and livelihoods of the peopl...

Today’s environmental crises are affecting lower-income countries – and within those countries, poor and marginalized communities – most of all. Policymakers in these countries are seeking new ways to balance trade-offs between the economic gro...

How do social norms – the set of informal rules, beliefs, and biases that govern behavior in a given group or society ­– affect the development process? While positive norms can support and accelerate development, harmful ones like slavery or f...

Almost 60 years after the passing of the Civil Rights Act in the US, race continues to determine patterns of income, wealth and opportunity. For Black Americans in particular, the predominance of exploitative practices such as sharecropping fol...

Recent research has revealed how often life outcomes such as income, health, and wellbeing are set in the first few years of life. Parenting practices can foster positive gains in childhood development, but they may not be widely known or prior...

The upcoming 2023 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the IMF with its focus on “reshaping development for a new era” is an important reminder that systemic chan...

Every year on January 26th, India celebrates Republic Day – the day the Indian Constitution went into effect in 1950, after three years of drafting and debate by independent India’s first Constituent Assembly.  The Indian constitution outl...

The global food system has been knocked off its axis by conflict, Covid-19, and climate change. Food prices have soared to record heights around the world, and lower-income countries face food shortages. As an economist with a focus...

Once embraced as a pathway to global prosperity, globalization has come under attack in recent years. International trade has decreased inequality between nations, but at the cost of sometimes increasing inequalities within na...

As African nations take on new economic challenges and seek new development opportunities, their success will rely in part on an essential, often overlooked resource: African economists.To help provide future economists with the trainin...