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April 5, 2024
Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and the Global Poverty Research Lab recently brought together top researchers in development economics to discuss public policy and promote global initiatives.
The Conference on Development Economics integrated cutting-edge theory and first-rate empirical work as speakers addressed issues such as social conflict, health and education within the contexts of policy and economic research.
Faculty from around the world engaged 150 scholars in a two-day dialogue exploring opportunities and implications of policy on development.
“What’s unique about this conference is how it asked researchers to focus on the policy relevance of their work,” said Nancy Qian, James J. O’Connor Professor of Managerial Economics and Decision Sciences at Kellogg.
Researchers shared their real-world experiences working with policymakers and shared actionable insights with future researchers.
Featured speakers included Melissa Dell, professor of economics at Harvard University; Esther Duflo, professor of poverty alleviation and development economics at MIT; and Debraj Ray, professor of economics at NYU.
This event, was held Sept. 28-29 at Kellogg’s Global Hub.
Development economics is a growing field at Northwestern, driven by the Global Poverty Research lab, which was started by Dean Karlan and Chris Udry who joined the University in 2017.
The Lab’s mission is to use empirical evidence to address the challenges of overcoming poverty and improving well-being in the developing world.
The Conference on Development Economics was made possible by the organizing committee:
• Sandeep Baliga, professor of managerial economics and decision sciences at Kellogg, who uses game theory and the theory of incentives to explore issues in economics and political science;
• Dean Karlan, professor of economics and finance at Kellogg and co-director of the new Global Poverty Research Lab within the Buffet Institute for Global Studies at Northwestern; and,
• Nancy Qian, professor of managerial economics and decisions sciences at Kellogg and director of the China cluster of the Global Poverty Research Lab.
