Interns

Student Stories: Overcoming Unique Challenges in the UAE

Harumi Hasegawa photoHarumi Hasegawa Sanchez is a second-year MPA/ID student at Harvard Kennedy School. She was accepted into the Growth Lab's 2022 Summer Internship Program and contributed to the UAE project. Our team is developing rigorous research to inform the Ministry of Economy in devising a dynamic trade policy, geared towards promoting structural transformation in the UAE and achieving sustained long-term economic growth.... Read more about Student Stories: Overcoming Unique Challenges in the UAE

Student Stories: Exploring Investment Opportunities in Namibia

Caitlin McIlwain head shotCaitlin McIlwain is pursuing her MPA at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She held an internship with the Namibia Investment Promotion Development Board and contributed to the Growth Lab's project in Namibia. This two-year policy engagement with the Government of Namibia focuses on supporting implementation efforts on a range of growth- and inclusion-related challenges.... Read more about Student Stories: Exploring Investment Opportunities in Namibia

What we learn from WAEMU for regional integration on the African continent

By Julia Conrad

Created in 1994, the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) was established as a trade and currency union and encompasses the eight countries Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo1– all of which are equal members of the regional and economic union ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States....

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A Free Trade Agreement Across the African Continent: Where Are the Export Opportunities for Nigeria?

By Enzo Dominguez Prost

After being fully implemented, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is going to be the biggest Free Trade Agreement (FTA) ever in population and geographical size: more than fifty countries have been working since 2015 on tariff reductions in goods, rules of origin and procedures, technical barriers, or trade-in services, just to mention some topics. Considering that intra-regional...

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Development in Practice: Practical Applications of Economic Complexity in Ethiopia

By: Aziz Ben Baz (MPA/ID ’22)

Over the summer, I had the chance to work with the Growth Lab (GL) at Harvard’s Center for International Development (CID) on the Advancing Economic Diversification in Ethiopia project. One of the main reasons I chose to pursue the MPA/ID program at HKS is that I was a counterpart for the GL in my previous work. As such, it was a primary focus of mine to get immersed in the GL work during my time at HKS to get a...

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Financial Liberalization and Debt Sustainability in Ethiopia

By: Keita Takemura (MPA/ID ’22)

As an intern with the Growth Lab, I was working with the National Bank of Ethiopia on macroeconomic issues. Ethiopia has achieved rapid economic growth from the early 2000s, alongside large capital account and fiscal deficits (when the deficit is broadly defined). In spite of this situation where depreciation would be necessary to clear excess demand for FX, the exchange rate has not been devalued in a manner consistent with the level of deficit monetization. The exchange rate control, together with restrictions on financial account...

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AIC: A Summer in Albania Working for Investment Capabilities Development

By Damian Galinsky

According to CID’s growth diagnostic findings on Albania, the country has the need to diversify and increase the complexity of the economic base.

As a Harvard Kennedy School student, I spent last summer as a CID intern working on the initial asset analysis and project selection for the Albanian Investment Corporation (AIC). The main objective of AIC is improving growth in Albania through the generation of the capability to identify, prepare, and develop vital projects for Albania.

My analysis was carried out by working...

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Agritourism in Albania: Trends, Constraints, and Recommendations

Wine Tasting in Cobo Winery, Albania Albania is currently enjoying strong growth in both its agriculture and tourism sectors, but there is significant space for the acceleration of growth and job creation in both areas.

CID intern and Harvard Kennedy School student, Neetisha Besra, spent several months exploring recent developments in Albania at the intersection of these two sectors: agritourism. This exploration included working across numerous departments that are aiming to support the agritourism industry in Albania, traveling across the country to assess a range of emerging business cases, and traveling to both Italy and Greece to benchmark emerging trends in Albania against the development of mature agritourism industries in these two countries.... Read more about Agritourism in Albania: Trends, Constraints, and Recommendations

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