UNU-WIDER 61d ago

This video features the keynote segment of the inaugural session of the 2026 WIDER Development Conference, held in New Delhi, India, on Wednesday, 18 March 2026. Professor Eric Verhoogen of Columbia University delivers a keynote lecture on “Barriers to industrial upgrading”, examining why firms in low- and middle-income countries often struggle to catch up with global technological and quality standards. The lecture explores how manufacturing firms upgrade their processes and products through technology adoption, quality improvement, and innovation, and what these processes mean for trade competitiveness, growth, and worker welfare. The keynote is followed by a moderated policy discussion with distinguished discussants. Chair Prof Martha Chen | Chair, WIDER Board; Affiliate, Harvard Mittal Institute; Co-Founder and Board Member, WIEGO Keynote speaker Prof Eric Verhoogen | Department of Economics and School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University Distinguished discussants Ajay Shankar | Distinguished Visiting Fellow, ISID; former Industry Secretary, Government of India Dr Zainab Usman | Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University The 2026 WIDER Development Conference, co-organized by UNU-WIDER and ISID, explores green industrialization and inclusive growth in a fractured world order. The conference convenes researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to examine how countries in the Global South can respond to new challenges in global economic governance, climate transitions, industrial policy, and inclusive development. Learn more: https://www.wider.unu.edu/plenary-session/inaugural-session-industrial-policy-global-transitions UNU-WIDER: https://www.wider.unu.edu