VoxDev Development Economics

Many development economists would argue that the most important innovation of the 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 development economics, and the future of the discipline itself. Read the full show notes on VoxDev: https://voxdev.org/topic/macroeconomics-growth/rethinking-evidence-and-refocusing-growth-development-economics

For more than 30 years, optimists about technology have been telling us that the internet 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: https://voxdev.org/topic/macroeconomics-growth/how-does-internet-connectivity-impact-developing-economies

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 too much about external validity. Read the full show notes on VoxDev: https://voxdev.org/topic/firms/role-evidence-development-finance-institutions

In the second episode of the collaboration between Yale’s Economic Growth Center and 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.

When citizens demand change and feel they are not being heard, they protest on the streets. 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: https://voxdev.org/topic/institutions-political-economy/why-do-protests-matter-exploring-their-causes-and-lasting

In our final episode based on this year’s BREAD-IGC virtual PhD-level course on the economics 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. Read the full show notes on VoxDev: https://voxdev.org/topic/migration-urbanisation/how-urban-environment-can-adapt-climate-change

If you’re applying for a job, you want to know what you’re good at, and be able to prove 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, and Stefano Caria of the University of Warwick, tell Tim Phillips about the impact of skills signals on employment. Read the full show notes on VoxDev: https://voxdev.org/topic/labour-markets/helping-jobseekers-signal-their-skills-cost-effective-strategy-benefitting

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 explains to Tim Phillips how we can draw on history to understand the current, sometimes heated, debates about why, when, and where cash transfers should be used.

Where does electricity come from? In developing countries, the power sector uses long-term, rigid contracts called power purchase agreements (PPAs) between a private generator and government-owned utilities. These PPAs are not usually competitive, their terms – including payment guarantees by which suppliers get paid even when there is no demand – are often secret, they can last for up to 30 years, and they guarantee the use of fossil fuels far into the future. Sugandha Srivastav tells Tim Phillips about how the privatisation of electricity generation has created a way to move money “from the public coffers to vested interests”. Read the full show notes on VoxDev: https://voxdev.org/topic/energy-environment/why-pakistan-locked-overpriced-and-environmentally-damaging-power-sector

Can better data analysis improve the way that a government functions. The Government Analytics Handbook, published by the World Bank, is both a practical how-to guide and a fascinating insight into how administrators can improve the quality of government analytics. Daniel Rogger and Christian Schuster are the editors. They talk to Tim Phillips about the challenges, the potential – and their work to create a community of analysts. Read the full show notes on VoxDev: https://voxdev.org/topic/public-economics/how-government-analytics-can-improve-public-sector-implementation