Stefan Dercon is Professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government and the Economics Department, and a Fellow of Jesus College. He is also Director of the Centre for the Study of African Economies. Prof. Dercon's latest book, "Gambling on Development: Why Some Countries Win and Others Lose" draws on his academic research as well as his policy experience across three decades and 40-odd countries, exploring why some countries have managed to settle on elite bargains favoring growth and development, and others did not.
After surveying over 30% of the diaspora of Colombia, Growth Lab researchers and their co-authors studied a number of factors related to this diaspora.
The Growth Lab has been engaged in an applied research project with the country of Albania since 2013. In this time, we have conducted research on numerous, diverse workstreams related to stimulating economic growth in the country.
During this research engagement, our team worked with policymakers on the creation of the Albania Investment Corporation (AIC), an entity within the Albanian government responsible for engaging with both the public...
The Growth Lab has been engaged in an applied research project with the country of Albania since 2013. In this time, we have conducted research on numerous, diverse workstreams related to stimulating economic growth in the country. During this research engagement, our team worked directly with policymakers to help build their capabilities so they can better design and implement policy reforms.
In this podcast episode, Growth Lab researchers Jessie Lu and Ermal...
The Growth Lab has been engaged in an applied research project with the country of Albania since 2013. In this time, we have conducted research on numerous, diverse workstreams related to stimulating economic growth in the country.
During this research engagement, our team conducted Growth Diagnostic analyses to understand and test potential binding constraints to economic growth in Albania. After the initial Growth Diagnostic study in 2013,...
The Growth Lab has been engaged in an applied research project with the country of Albania since 2013. In this time, we have conducted research on numerous, diverse workstreams related to stimulating economic growth in the country.
In this podcast episode, we kick off a larger outreach campaign, which showcases our engagement in Albania, by gathering members of our research team to discuss their work. Hosted by research assistant Jessie Lu, this podcast features Ermal Frasheri, Tim O’Brien, Shreyas Gadgin Matha, Spencer Bateman, Ricardo Villasmil, and Daniela Muhaj,...
What drives economic development? Or more precisely, what constrains economic development? An emerging consensus on this question surrounds the role of locally embedded productive capabilities and the idea that countries build on their existing capabilities to move into new economic activities. In new research published in Nature Communications, Neave O'Clery, Muhammed Yildirim and Ricardo Hausmann develop a mathematical model based on capability accumulation of countries and use this model to construct a directed network of products, the Eco Space. They uncover a modular structure in...
On today's episode of The Growth Lab Podcast, CID Student Ambassador Emily Ausubel interviews Tim O’Brien and Dan Stock, Research Fellows at Harvard's Growth Lab. Tim and Dan discuss the Growth Lab project in Sri Lanka and how they are applying the Growth Diagnostics Methodology to identify the country’s binding constraints for diversification and economic growth. Read the Growth Diagnostic. Read more about Growth Diagnostics in Real Life: The Growth Lab's Project in Sri Lanka
What does it take for a sub-national unit to become an autonomous engine of growth? This issue is particularly relevant to large cities, as they tend to display larger and more complex know-how agglomerations and may have access to a broader set of policy tools.
To approximate an answer to this question, specific to the case of Buenos Aires, Harvard’s Growth Lab engaged in a research project from December 2018 to June 2019, collaborating with the Center for Evidence-based Evaluation of Policies (CEPE) of Universidad Torcuato di Tella, and the Development Unit of the Secretary...
Venezuela is currently undergoing the worst economic crisis in its history. By the end of 2016, more than 30% of the gross domestic product (GDP) it had three years ago will be lost. Poverty has soared to record levels. Monthly inflation rates are gradually approaching hyperinflation. Shortages of basic food staples and medicines are rampant. In order to promote a better understanding of the causes, magnitudes, and possible remedies of the crisis, the Center for International Development (CID) at Harvard University launched a research initiative on Venezuela at the end of 2015. In this Growth... Read more about Venezuela: How an Oil Rich Country Went Bust and the Roadmap to Get It Back on Track
