Economic Growth

When you read what economists have to say about development, it is easy to be disheartened about the prospects for poor countries. One big reason is that slow changing institutional factors are seen as key to development prospects. I’ve just published a CGD book that’s a little more opti...

Each year, as ministers gather from all corners of the world for the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, Washington DC resounds with a cacophony of differing perspectives on future prospects, like a giant, multinational orchestra tuning up. Yet this time, in both public and private gatherings, with both...

The African Development Bank recently turned 50. In that time it's made more than 4,000 grants and loans, totaling more than $71 billion. So what might its next half-century look like? Bank President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina joins me on this week's podcast to share his vision for Africa&#39...

The African Development Bank recently turned 50. In that time it's made more than 4,000 grants and loans, totaling more than $71 billion. So what might its next half-century look like? Bank President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina joins me on this week's podcast to share his vision for Africa&#39...

The informal sector is a major source of economic activity and job opportunities in poor countries as well as emerging economies. In sub-Saharan Africa, the size of the informal sector is estimated to employ over 70 percent of the population. Why do businesses remain informal? What gains i...

The Indian Ministry of Finance’s 2017 Economic Survey considers—though does not commit to—the idea of a large-scale experiment in UBI, or universal basic income. How would it work? What effects would it have? Arvind Subramanian—lead author of the Survey, chief econo...

The Indian Ministry of Finance’s 2017 Economic Survey considers—though does not commit to—the idea of a large-scale experiment in UBI, or universal basic income. How would it work? What effects would it have? Arvind Subramanian—lead author of the Survey, chief econo...