Jul

9 - 10

2024

HYBRID
8:00—6:00 PM EDT
World Bank (Day 1) & CGD (Day 2)
Washington, DC
CONFERENCE

Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics 2024—The Great Incoherence: Growth and Human Development in An Era of Stagnation

See below for schedule and full list of speakers. 

For questions, contact:
[email protected]
[email protected]

** Please note that there is no open call for paper submissions for this year’s ABCDE conference **

DAY 1:
Preston Auditorium, World Bank, 1818 H St NW Washington, DC 20433
DAY 2:
Birdsall House Conference Center, Center for Global Development, 2055 L St NW, Washington, DC 20036

This two-day event is co-hosted with the World Bank. The first day will take place at the World Bank's office, and the second day at the Center for Global Development.

  

The World Bank Group’s Annual Conference on Development Economics—ABCDE—is a key forum to stimulate an exchange of ideas between leaders in global policy discussions and policymakers from the Bank’s member countries. Established in 1989 and organized by the World Bank’s Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC), ABCDE quickly became the premier venue for cutting-edge insights on how to tackle the most pressing challenges of development. Researchers presenting papers frequently went on to win the Nobel Prize for economics. The conference also played a role in shaping a broader global consensus on development policy. 

Beginning in 2024, ABCDE will be co-sponsored with a partner organization. This year, to strengthen the collaboration between researchers and policymakers, the conference will be co-organized by the Center for Global Development. CGD specializes in producing innovative economic research and convening events that drives better policy and practice by the world’s top decision makers.

Theme

The world is faced with a series of growing crises, yet leaders and the international community seem less able to respond each year. The gap between the financing that’s available and the financing that’s needed to combat climate change, build much-needed infrastructure, and invest in a new generation keeps growing, and across the world, women and young people—the majority of the population—face systematic barriers to their safety, livelihoods, and economic potential. A new approach is needed more than ever. Over two days, the 2024 ABCDE will hold a series of panels where researchers will present papers and analysis on solutions to the critical challenges the world is facing.

The first day will have panels that focus on a variety of questions related to financing and growth: How can the volume of climate finance be increased, particularly without deprioritizing other key development issues? How should the world respond to the global debt crisis and promote future economic growth? What are the implications of recent shifts in industrial policy for the future growth pathways of the Global South, and how can countries adapt? And how can private capital be mobilized for these issues and others?

A key part of the solution to many of these challenges is more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The second day will focus on a key component of achieving this type of growth: overcoming the constraints facing women and youth in the labor market in low-and-middle-income-countries. This day will have panels on social safety nets and women’s labor force participation, norms and other constraints to women’s economic inclusion, and the economic inclusion of youth.

Schedule and Presentation Slides

Registration and Breakfast
8:00am-9:00am ET

Opening Remarks
9:00am-9:15am ET

Keynote Address
9:15am-9:55am ET

  • Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University; Board Chair, Center for Global Development 
  • Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics and Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy 

Plenary Panel: The Great Incoherence
9:55am-10:35am ET

  • Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics, World Bank Group 
  • Rachel Glennerster, Incoming President, Center for Global Development 
  • Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics and Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy 
  • Moderator

Coffee Break
10:35am-10:50am ET

Session 1: Industrial Policy
10:50am-12:05pm ET

  • Paper 1: Is There Still a Role for Direct Government Support to Firms in Developing Countries? 
    • David McKenzie, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank
  • Paper 2: The Political Economy of Reviving Industrial Policy in Uganda
    •  Pritish Behuria, Political Economist and Senior Lecturer, The University of Manchester
  • Paper 3: Industrial Policy for Developing Countries: Is There a Way to Pick Winners? 
    • Tristan Reed, Applied Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank
  • Discussants 
    • Ana Cusolito, Senior Economist, Markets, Competition & Technology Unit of the FCI Global Practice, World Bank 
    • Ana Fernandes, Lead Economist, Trade and International Integration Unit, Development Research Group, World Bank
  • Moderator

Lunch Break
12:05pm-1:15pm ET

Session 2: Sovereign Debt and Default
1:15pm-2:30pm ET

  • Paper 1: The Financial Returns on China’s Belt and Road
    •  Christoph Trebesch, Head of the Research Center International Finance and Macroeconomics, Kiel Institute; Professor of Macroeconomics, Kiel University
  • Paper 2: Sovereign Defaults at Home and Abroad 
    • Enrico Mallucci, Principal Economist, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
  • Paper 3: Why do Some Countries Default More Often Than Others? The Role of Institutions 
  • Discussants
  • Moderator
    • Manuela Francisco, Global Director, Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment, World Bank  

Coffee Break
2:30pm-2:45pm ET

Session 3: Private Capital Mobilization for Sustainable Development
2:45pm-4:00pm ET

  • Paper 1: Carbon Prices and Forest preservation Over Space and Time in the Brazilian Amazon 
    • José Scheinkman, Charles and Lynn Zhang Professor of Economics, Columbia University; Theodore A. Wells '29 Professor of Economics Emeritus, Princeton University 
  • Paper 2: Climate Regulatory Risks and Corporate Bonds
    •  Lee Seltzer, Financial Research Economist, Climate Risk Studies, Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  • Paper 3: Too-Big-to-Strand? Bond versus Bank Financing in the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy
    • Manthos Delis, Professor of Financial Economics, Audencia Business School 
  • Discussants
  • Moderator

Coffee Break
4:00pm-4:15pm ET

Keynote Address
4:15pm-4:45pm ET

  • Michael Kremer, University Professor in Economics, University of Chicago 

Session 4: What Should Developing Countries Do Differently in the Next Pandemic?
4:45pm-6:00pm ET

  • Paper 1: 7 Lessons from the Pandemic for Low and Middle-Income Countries
  • Paper 2: Adjusting to Transitory Shocks: Worker Impact, Firm Channels, and (Lack of) Income Support
    • Joana Silva, Senior Economist at the Office of the Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, World Bank
  • Paper 3: How Much Learning was Lost during the Pandemic, and How Much has Been Made Up?
  • Moderator
    • David Evans, Principal Economic Advisor for the Social Sector, Inter-American Development Bank  

 

Welcome Remarks
8:15am-8:30am ET

Plenary Panel: The Economic Inclusion of Women and Youth
8:30am-10:30am ET

Coffee Break
10:30am-11am ET

Session 1: Social Safety Nets and Women’s Labor Force Participation in LMICs
11:00am-12:30pm ET

Lunch Break
12:30pm-2:15pm ET

Keynote Address: Breaking the Mold—India's untraveled Path to Prosperity
12:45pm – 2:00pm

Session 2: Norms and Other Constraints to Women’s Economic inclusion (2:15pm-3:45pm ET)

Coffee Break
3:45pm-4:00pm ET

Session 3: Economic Inclusion of Youth
4:00pm-5:30pm ET

Closing Remarks
5:30pm-6:00pm ET

  • Tamar Atinc, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development, Center for Universal Education, Brookings 

Consultation and Reception around the 2025 Human Development Flagship Report (6:00-7:00pm)

 

Subscribe today to receive CGD’s latest newsletters and topic updates.
Subscribe