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VoxDev Development Economics

VoxDev.org

Hear about the cutting edge of development economics from research to practice.

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37:40

S5 Ep4: Development Dialogues: Are vocational...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/04/01

Vocational training is often seen as a silver bullet for unemployment and poverty, but does the evidence support that view? Why do so many training programs fail to lead to real job opportunities, and are we asking too much of these programs – or maybe the wrong questions entirely? In the latest episode of the collaboration between Yale’s Economic Growth Center and VoxDev, host Catherine Cheney is joined by Oriana Bandiera, professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, Stefano Caria,

23:38

S6 Ep12: Can safe transport unlock women’s labour...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/03/27

A fundamental part of women’s economic empowerment is helping women who want to work outside the home to find and keep a job. A major part of that decision is ensuring that they can travel to work without fear of stigma, harassment or violence on public transport. In Pakistan, a study set out to discover whether an offer of safe commuter transport would tempt women who are currently not looking for a job.Kate Vyborny of the World Bank spoke to Tim Phillips from Lahore, where the study took place,

29:45

S6 Ep11: Is debt leading to the unsustainable...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/03/19

How does rising external debt in low-income countries affect the natural capital thatsustains our livelihoods? A new paper focuses on three river basins that are vital to the livelihoods and biodiversity of the countries that surround them, suggesting ways that we can both measure and conserve that natural capital in the face of the economic forces that threaten it. Pushpam Kumar of UN Environment Programme talks to Tim Phillips about the alarming rise in the ratio of debt to natural capital for

32:49

S6 Ep10: Simon Johnson on geopolitics, AI, and the...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/03/12

Geopolitical alliances are changing rapidly. Technological innovation is reshaping our economies. These trends offer a cocktail of risk and reward for countries in the global south. They are also both topics that are familiar to Simon Johnson of MIT.Simon speaks to Tim Phillips about how policy in developing countries should respond to President Trump’s deglobalization agenda, how artificial intelligence changes the future for all countries, and where growth and jobs will come from in the

26:20

S6 Ep9: Rebuilding Sudan’s digital infrastructure...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/03/05

Civil war – the latest in a long series of armed conflicts – broke out in Sudan in April2023. Today, more than half of the population needs humanitarian aid, and almost 15 million people have been displaced. The war has also devastated the digital infrastructure in Sudan, deepening the crisis. African Renaissance Ventures is a VC firm that backs entrepreneurs who use technology to solve major development challenges. Magdi Amin tells Tim Phillips about how its infrastructure might be restored, and

23:25

S6 Ep8: Bangladesh’s path forward: Leveraging...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/02/26

Bangladesh's development story in the 21st century is often regarded as a model ofresilience and progress. But on 5 August 2024, student-led protests and public unrest caused Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s prime minister, to resign and flee to India. An interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, took over. Six months on, Bangladesh’s political and economic future is unclear. Imran Matin, Executive Director, BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), is one of the experts in Bangladesh who

42:19

S5 Ep3: Development dialogues: The future of...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/02/24

With populist politicians taking power around the world, policymakers are relying lesson research and expertise, as their political narratives prioritise emotion and identity over facts. This may have long-term consequences for global development: not least in the US, where the Agency for International Development has been dismantled, with thousands of staff laid off. Critical development programs have been halted, and the future of US foreign assistance is in limbo. In the latest episode of

25:30

S6 Ep7: How do cash transfers impact prices?

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/02/19

What are the price impacts of cash transfer programs? Do they raise prices as wellas incomes? And what is the impact on people in the community who don’t receive the transfer? Eeshani Kandpal of the Center for Global Development is one of the researchers who has investigated this topic. She talks to Tim Phillips about the conclusions of her own research, the insights of other economists, and the implications for policy.

36:08

S6 Ep6: The economics of ecosystems

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/02/12

How does a healthy ecosystem benefit humanity? How does the normal functioningof the economy impact natural habitats and animal populations? And what are the costs and benefits of conservation? Eyal Frank of the University of Chicago works at the intersection of economics and conservation. He speaks to Tim Phillips about how economic growth often has a hidden environmental cost. Read the full show notes on VoxDev:

31:26

S6 Ep5: Peacemaking, peacebuilding and post-war...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/02/05

The Reducing Conflict and Improving Performance in the Economy (ReCIPE)programme, established in April 2024, aims to provide a better understanding of the links between conflict, economic growth, and public policies. One of its many themes is on what happens post-conflict: peacemaking, peacebuilding, and reconstruction. Salma Mousa and Lisa Hultman, theme leaders, talk to Tim Phillips about why peacebuilding must always be both bottom-up and top-down if it is going to work.

31:11

S6 Ep4: What have we learned about microfinance?

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/01/30

Published this week: the latest VoxDevLit covers microfinance. After many decades,microfinance is pervasive and popular in developing countries but is often controversial. What have we learned about what works, how it works, and who it helps – and what is there still to understand? Authors Simon Quinn, Muhammad Meki, and Jing Cai talk to Tim Phillips about the problems of evaluation, the surprising uses to which microfinance has been put, and the lessons that policymakers can learn from the story

29:30

S6 Ep3: How can countries develop their economies in...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/01/22

In 2018, “Unorthodox policies for unorthodox times” was the title of the first in aseries of blogs published by the International Growth Centre. The authors argued that the environment for development had changed, and so development policies should change too. Seven years on, as delegates gather in Davos for the 2025 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, how prescient was the analysis in these articles, and what does this mean for future growth policy? Tim Dobermann and Francesco Caselli talk

28:43

S6 Ep2: Rethinking evidence in development economics

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/01/15

Many development economists would argue that the most important innovation ofthe last two decades has been a commitment to use only rigorous evidence for policy, and usually what they mean is evidence generated by RCTs. But are systematic reviews of the results a useful guide to policy? And should development economics continue to be focusing so much on the programmes that flow from RCT- driven research? Lant Pritchett of LSE talks to Tim Phillips about the nature of “rigorous” evidence in

23:06

S6 Ep1: How does internet connectivity impact...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2025/01/08

For more than 30 years, optimists about technology have been telling us that theinternet is transforming our economies. What is the evidence that this has happened, or is happening, in low- or middle-income countries? And if the promise has not been fulfilled, why not? Lin Tian is one of the authors of a new paper that examines the evidence so far. She talks to Tim Phillips about what the research is telling us. Read the full show notes on VoxDev:

29:42

S4 Ep53: The role of evidence at development finance...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2024/12/19

Chris Woodruff has pioneered academic research into businesses, large and small, in low-income countries, He is also a non-executive Director of British International Investment (BII), a development finance institution and impact investor that partners with more than 1,500 businesses in emerging economies, with assets of £8.1 billion. Chris talks to Tim Phillips about what he has learned from his association with BII into how research can inform policy and investment – and whether economists worry

35:32

S5 Ep2: Development Dialogues: How can emerging...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2024/12/17

In the second episode of the collaboration between Yale’s Economic Growth Centerand VoxDev, Catherine Cheney speaks to Amit Khandelwal of the Yale Jackson School of Public Affairs, Isabela Manelici of the London School of Economics, and Arvind Subramanian of the Peterson Institute, As globalisation faces new headwinds, they discuss the outlook for those countries that didn’t reap the trade benefits from the spread of globalisation, and the new challenges for LMICs.

32:42

S4 Ep52: Why do protests matter?

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2024/12/12

When citizens demand change and feel they are not being heard, they protest on thestreets. Thanks to social media and TV coverage, we see protests every night on the news. But has the frequency or the character of protests changed? Who is protesting, and what makes them take to the streets? David Yang and Noam Yuchtman are two of the authors of a new review of the literature on protests. They tell Tim Phillips what they discovered. Read the full show notes on VoxDev:

24:18

S4 Ep51: How the urban environment can adapt to...

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2024/12/10

In our final episode based on this year’s BREAD-IGC virtual PhD-level course on theeconomics of cities in low and middle-income countries, Matthew Kahn of USC and Siqi Zheng of MIT focus on sustainable urbanisation. They tell Tim Phillips about how cities can adapt in the face of climate change, both its inhabitants and its buildings.

17:59

S4 Ep50: Helping jobseekers signal their skills

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2024/12/05

If you’re applying for a job, you want to know what you’re good at, and be able toprove it to the recruiter. If doing the recruiting, you want some evidence about who the best candidates would be. In low- or middle-income countries, this information is often in short supply. How does this affect who gets a job, and the hiring process? In the latest in our collaborations with J-Pal to discuss their policy insights, Marianne Bertrand of Chicago Booth School, also Co-Chair, Labor Markets at J-Pal,

37:46

S4 Ep49: The history of cash transfers

VoxDev Development Economics ·

2024/12/03

There are more than 1.4 million papers about cash transfers. They inspired Ugo Gentilini, lead economist for social protection at the World Bank, to spend five years researching the surprisingly long and rich history of these cash transfers. The resulting book, called “Timely Cash: Lessons From 2,500 Years of Giving People Money”, shows that the political and ethical debates that cash transfers inspire are centuries, sometimes millennia, old. In a special episode to mark the launch of his book, Ugo

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