AI could reshape the pathways to economic growth. Those looking to grow will adapt to that. Predictions of our economic futures should account for both.

AI RCTs are on the rise; a trend that’s set to continue, and is likely to intensify. But randomising a rapidly evolving, increasingly widely adopted, technology poses a distinct set of challenges. So ...

I have been (trying) to keep track of the latest AI-related thinking and research that is relevant to low- and middle-income countries. It is hard to know where to look and what to trust, here are the...

YouTube video by VoxDev

YouTube video by VoxDev

YouTube video by VoxDev

India produces enough buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid addiction, to serve about 450,000 patients each year. It is treating only 45,000. How do we fix this?

Dani Rodrik recently wrote an article outlining how he has become a manufacturing skeptic. In this live episode of the Ideas in Development podcast, he'll join Oliver Hanney to discuss his evolving v...

New evidence from colonial history is challenging the consensus that extractive institutions always harm long-run development, showing that outcomes depend on whether extraction left behind durable pu...

Despite a long decline in agriculture's share of Ghana's economy, the sector remains vital, yet productivity gains are undermined by partial and uneven adoption of modern technologies across seeds, fe...

I am sick of hearing the ‘foreign aid will reduce migration’ sales pitch.

Sharing research evidence with senior rather than junior staff significantly raises the chance it spreads through an organisation, but shifting peer beliefs about the evidence has no clear effect.

YouTube video by VoxDev

Ethnic diversity is often blamed for poor development outcomes. New evidence from colonial Peru shows that a history of economic exchange can sustain inter-ethnic cooperation and local trade in the long run.

Formal military cooperation between neighbouring states can reduce jihadist violence in border regions, as shown by causal evidence from the G5 Sahel Joint Force, which allowed armies to conduct joint operations and share intelligence across borders. However, high levels of civilian victimisation put these gains into perspective. Military cooperation alone cannot resolve deep-rooted conflicts; any benefits are contingent on institutional stability – a lesson made urgent by the subsequent collapse of the G5 framework following coups in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

New estimates of the social rates of return on investment in road infrastructure in emerging market and developing economies highlight substantial unrealised gains from redirecting advanced-economy savings towards public investment in developing countries.

Weather forecasts in low-income countries are about 20 years behind those in high-income countries, worsening economic losses and increasing vulnerability to climate-related risks.

Development economics needs to step up.

Industrial policy, a powerful tool for economic development in the ‘Asian Miracles’, was based on the three key principles: promoting sophisticated export-oriented industries, fostering innovation and...

What do we know about the challenges faced by women and girls worldwide, and what can we do about them? Evidence from 18 developing countries helps elucidate this.