VoxDev
Dean Karlan argues that economics is about more than simply evaluating whether a policy or programme succeeded and explains the importance of understanding why outcomes occur, the mechanisms behind...
Does life satisfaction go down as living standards go up? Over the last 60 years, Malaysians have experienced the highest levels of income growth in Southeast Asia – and yet, in 2018, they voted ou...
Dean Karlan discusses the importance of testing interventions, learning from results, and using data-driven insights to improve decision-making and development outcomes.
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Dean Karlan explains aid can influence local government decision-making through funding, partnerships, and technical support & how external actors can encourage policy change while working within
Dean Karlan explains how the programme was tested, scaled into the country’s education system, and used to explore how incentives can improve school performance.
Listen to Ideas in Development whe...
In 1987, Indian life came to a standstill as communities gathered to watch Ramayan, a dramatised version of the ancient Hindu epic – with around 80 million people tuning in every week. Areas with s...
Air pollution is the world’s leading environmental health risk.
Its burden falls overwhelmingly on low- and middle-income countries where populations are most exposed and least able to protect the...
Rafe Meager explains why econometrics is not only about proving internal validity, but also about making credible, defensible claims from evidence. You can listen to Ideas in Development wherever y...
Michelle Rao discusses how evidence-based policy can challenge existing priorities, create trade-offs, and expose uncomfortable choices for decision-makers.
You can listen to Ideas in Development ...
In 2022, Dean Karlan became Chief Economist at USAID, tasked with steering the world's largest bilateral aid agency towards evidence-backed approaches. He left in 2025, as the agency was being dism...
Technology improvement is central to development.
In developing countries, this often means adopting and adapting technologies from the frontier rather than inventing new ones. But access to front...
Michelle Rao highlights how policymakers’ beliefs, incentives, communication challenges, and partnerships shape whether research is actually used. You can listen to Ideas in Development wherever yo...
Mamo Mihretu discusses how Ethiopia’s landlocked geography and trade logistics affect manufacturing competitiveness. You can listen to Ideas in Development wherever you get your podcasts. #developm...
Evidence-based policy can challenge existing priorities, create trade-offs, and expose uncomfortable choices for decision-makers. It highlights why adopting evidence is not only a technical process...
Rafe Meager discusses how economists can help interpret, organize, and aggregate research findings.
You can listen to Ideas in Development wherever you get your podcasts. #development #economics...
When less children die from malaria, parents not only have less kids but invest more in each child's education, which translates into higher future earnings. Vaccinating a child against malaria onl...
Nancy Birdsall revists the East Asian miracle in a recent episode of VoxDevTalks #economics #history #eastasia
Nancy Birdsall explains on a recent episode of VoxDevTalks #economics #history #japan
During the Great Leap Forward in Maoist China, the state convinced millions of people to kill billions of sparrows. How did the Four Pests Campaign play out in real time? Shaoda Wang explains on a ...
The conversation about evidence-based policy usually asks why good evidence isn't shaping decisions. But we should also be asking, is the evidence base itself actually worthy of shaping policy?
In...