Center For International Development

Originally recorded on November 13th, 2020. CID Director Asim I. Khwaja joined us after CID's virtual Speaker Series event for further discussion on his research proposal for governments to face the challenges of COVID-19 faster and better, using the Smart Containment with Active Learning (SCALE) strategy. SCALE is an active learning strategy that tests and refines policy in real-time through a context-specific approach, according to the local prevalence of COVID-19. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments face a difficult tradeoff, particularly in developing countries. Government officials must decide either to keep their economies open and risk thousands of lives or implement a lockdown and risk economic collapse, which may also result in many non-COVID related deaths. Even worse they must make these decisions without knowing what the real tradeoff between them is. Lockdowns hit low-income countries especially hard. Larger informal workforces mean newly vulnerable populations are harder to tar

Originally recorded on November 20, 2020 Jenny Perlman Robinson and Molly Curtiss joined us at CID's virtual Speaker Series event and sat down with us for further discussion on their work on scaling and education at the Center for Universal Education(CUE), Brookings Institution. Despite growing evidence on what works to improve access and quality in education, the world continues to face a global learning crisis, with 258 million children already out of school and 617 million children and adolescents in school but not learning the basics even before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools around the globe. While there are many initiatives working to address this challenge at a small-scale, they often do not translate into the large-scale, systemic change required. Since 2014, the Millions Learning project, led by the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution, has examined how and under what conditions education policies and programs have gone to scale in developing contexts. Drawing

At this week's virtual CID Speaker Series event, Catalyzing Global Leadership to Contain the Impact of COVID-19 we are joined by featured guest Peter Sands, Executive Director of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria after his appearance at the virtual JKF Jr. Forum on October 28, 2020. How do we galvanize a global response to COVID-19 that truly leaves no-one behind? So far OECD countries have mobilized over $10 trillion for their own domestic responses, but foreign aid to low and middle countries remains broadly flat. Will we succeed in making everyone safe from COVID-19, or will we replicate what we did with HIV and tuberculosis, the two most recent big pandemics affecting humanity, which are largely eliminated as a public health threat in rich countries, but still kill millions in poor, vulnerable and marginalized communities?

At this week's virtual CID Speaker Series event we are joined by Neil Gregory, Chief Thought Leadership Officer of the International Finance Corporation or the private investment arm of the World Bank Group for a discussion moderated by Shawn Cole, a professor in the Finance Unit at Harvard Business School, where he teaches and conducts research on financial services, social enterprise, and impact investing. // Recorded virtually October 23, 2020. Impact investing in private markets could be as large as $2.1 trillion in assets under management, but only a quarter of that, $505 billion, is clearly measured for its impact, both for development impact and financial returns, according to the report Growing Impact—New Insights into the Practice of Impact Investing. Impact investing can be defined as “investments made into companies or organizations with the intent to contribute to measurable positive social or environmental impact, alongside financial returns.” This week's speaker is Neil Gregory, Chief Thought

On this week's Speaker Series virtual event, we were joined by George Gray Molina, Chief Economist at UN Development Programme's Global Policy Bureau. COVID-19 and the response to the pandemic is driving millions of informal sector and self-employed workers into poverty. George Gray Molina discussed the findings of a recent UNDP brief that provides estimates of a temporary basic income for all poor and vulnerable people in the developing world. // Recorded virtually on October 9, 2020. Speaker: ​George Gray Molina, Chief Economist at UNDP's Global Policy Bureau About the speaker: George Gray Molina is Chief Economist at UN Development Programme's Global Policy Bureau. His policy and research work focuses on poverty, inequality and policy reforms in the developing world. He has over twenty years of work experience in government, the United Nations, and academia. In his home country, Bolivia, he was head of UDAPE, the Ministry of the Presidency's economic think tank and professor of public policy at the Ca

On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Dr. Aditya Bahadur, Postdoctoral Researcher at the Earth Institute at Columbia University for a discussion on Urban Resilience Traps: Pivoting to A New Paradigm for Reducing Climate Risk in Cities of the Global South. Aditya sat down with CID's Executive Coordinator Rosemary Berberian for a conversation on his research and upcoming book. // Recorded on February 28, 2020 at Harvard Kennedy School. ABOUT THE TALK The fact that most of the world’s population now lives in urban areas that are facing sharply rising threats from climate change impacts means that the time for ‘business as usual’ is truly over. Since the advent of ‘urban resilience’ as a paradigm, governments and non-governmental actors have adopted certain modes of reducing risk that are no longer effective in dealing with the climate challenges that towns and cities face. Therefore, in this book we draw on empirical evidence from across the world to argue that the time is ripe to break out

On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Marla Spivack, Research Fellow at CID’s Building State Capability program, and the Research Manager of the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) program where she leads an array of research activities focused on synthesizing the findings of RISE country team work. Marla sat down with CID Student Ambassador Emma Cameron to discuss her research on Diagnosing Education Systems following her talk at the CID Speaker Series. // Recorded on February 21, 2020 at Harvard Kennedy School. The rapid expansion of schooling is one of international development’s most remarkable achievements. In nearly every country the average child can expect to complete basic schooling. At the same time, in many developing countries, more than half of children complete primary school without mastering basic reading and math skills. Despite laudable progress on schooling, much of the world faces a learning crisis. Large-scale efforts to address the symptoms of this cris

On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Annette Idler, a Visiting Scholar at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. She is also the Director of Studies at the Changing Character of War Centre, Senior Research Fellow at Pembroke College, and at the Department of Politics and International Relations, all University of Oxford. Annette sat down with CID Student Ambassador Mark Conmy to discuss her research from her latest book; Borderland Battles: Violence, Crime, and Governance at the Edges of Colombia's War. // Recorded on February 14, 2020 at Harvard Kennedy School. ABOUT THE TALK Annette Idler will discuss the findings of her timely new book, Borderland Battles: Violence, Crime, and Governance at the Edges of Colombia’s War (Oxford University Press, 2019). The post–cold war era has seen an unmistakable trend toward the proliferation of violent non-state groups-variously labeled terrorists, rebels, paramilitaries, gangs, and criminals-near borders in unstable regio

On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Miguel Angel Santos, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Director of Applied Research at CID's Growth Lab, as well as Tim O’Brien, Senior Manager of Applied Research at CID's Growth Lab. Miguel and Tim sat down with CID Student Ambassador Valeria Mendiola to discuss their research from Jordan on Macroeconomic Stability and Long-Term Growth. ABOUT THE TALK From February 2018 through September 2019, the Growth Lab conducted an applied research project in Jordan centered on understanding and addressing the country’s macroeconomic disequilibria and identifying the most binding constraints to economic growth. The project team applied growth diagnostic and economic complexity methodologies in coordination with the Government of Jordan and developed over 40 problem-specific research deliverables to support government policymaking and implementation. The project, which was supported through a grant from the Open Society

On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell, who was recently re-elected to the British House of Commons. Mitchell is a fellow at Cambridge University; a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University; and a Honorary Professor in School of Social Sciences for the University of Birmingham. Mitchell sat down with CID Student Ambassador Mark Conmy to discuss the Causes and Consequences of Brexit. ABOUT THE TALK Brexit has caused the most significant upheaval in British politics for decades. Its ramifications are being felt far beyond Britain’s shores. What caused the UK to advance down this route? How will it all end? CID’s Visiting Fellow Andrew Mitchell—re-elected to the House of Commons in Britain last month—answers these questions. ABOUT THE SPEAKER Andrew Mitchell was Secretary of State for International Development in the British Government from May 2010 until he became Government Chief Whip in September 2012. He was appointed to the Privy Council in 2010. Prior to joinin

In today’s world, most workers are highly specialized, but this specialization can come at a cost – especially for those on the wrong team. New research by Growth Lab Research Director Frank Neffke assesses the importance of the skills of coworkers. Finding coworkers who complement and not substitute one’s skills can significantly impact earning potential. The impact is equal to having a college degree. Coworker complementarity also drives careers and supports urban and large plant wage premiums. Learn more about this new research on The Value of Complementary Coworkers: https://growthlab.cid.harvard.edu/academic-research/complementarity About Frank Neffke: Frank Neffke is the Research Director of the Growth Lab at the Center for International Development. He joined the team in 2012. His research focuses on economic transformation and growth, from the macro level of structural change in regional and national economies to the micro level of firm diversification and the career paths of individuals. This rese

On this week's Speaker Series podcast, we are joined by Zainab Qureshi, the LEAPS (Learning and Educational Achievement in Pakistan Schools) Senior Program Manager at the Center for International Development’s EPoD (Evidence for Policy Design). Zainab will be speaking about EPoD’s research on alleviating system-level constraints to improve student learning outcomes in Pakistan. // Originally recorded on December 6, 2019. About the talk: School enrollment is up in Pakistan, but student learning outcomes remain vastly sub-standard. At same time, widespread local entrepreneurship has dramatically changed Pakistan's education landscape, with 42% of school-going children now attending low cost private schools. Transformational research by the LEAPS program shows that improving education quality will require moving beyond the traditional approach of input augmentation towards a new, systems-based approach that explores how to catalyze innovation in the entire education ecosystem and help schools help themselves.

How important are social constraints and information gaps about the labor market in explaining the low rates of female labor force participation (FLFP) in societies that are undergoing change, but have conservative gender norms? To answer this question, we conducted a field experiment embedded in a survey of female university students at a large public university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We randomly provided one subset of individuals with information on the labor market and aspirations of their female peers (T1), while another subset was provided with this information along with a prime that made the role of parents and family more salient (T2). We find that expectations of working among those in the Control group are quite high, yet students underestimate the expected labor force attachment of their female peers. We show that information matters: relative to the Control group, expectations about own labor force participation are significantly higher in the T1 group. We find little evidence that dissem

What does it take to grow entrepreneurial ecosystems in the developing world? The talk will share some lessons from our experience at Alter across 14 markets in SE Asia and Africa. Specifically, the talk will focus on three aspects of early-stage entrepreneurship in such markets: (i) thin capital markets and the implications for early stage companies and ventures; (ii) the demand-supply gaps in the high-skill labor market (and the role of the diaspora); and (iii) the potential for using a network-based sourcing and investment model within small, dense ecosystems. // Interview recorded on October 25, 2019. In this Speaker Series podcast, CID Student Ambassador Valeria sits down for a discussion with Ozair Ali, co-founder and COO of Alter Global - a network of tech entrepreneurs across emerging cities in the world. Ozair works with entrepreneurs to provide them with access to talent and capital. Ozair has previously worked at the Central Bank of Pakistan and at CID at Harvard University. He holds an MBA from

Support for gender equality has increased globally, and studies of this trend usually examine individual- and/or country-level factors. However, this overlooks subnational variation. City-dwellers are more likely to support gender equality in education, employment, leadership, and leisure. Alice Evans, lecturer at Kings College London, sat down with Salimah Samji, Director of the Building State Capability program at CID to discuss her investigation into the causes of rural–urban differences through comparative, qualitative research in Cambodia. Dr. Alice Evans is a Lecturer at King's College London as well as a Research Associate at CID’s Building State Capacity program. She researches social norms and how they change and is currently writing a book on how societies come to support gender equality. Interview originally recorded on October 30, 2018.

We are at a crossroads in the humanitarian community. Despite global commitments made in 2016 to shift power away from international to local actors to lead during crisis response, little has changed. We know that humanitarian action led by responsible governments in crisis-affected countries, assisted and held accountable by civil society, can more quickly save lives and act more appropriately to meet the needs of local populations. Simply put, governments and civil society in crisis-affected contexts should be leading humanitarian action wherever possible, with international actors assuming a supporting role. How do we get there? Fatema will share examples from recent crises in Mozambique, Indonesia, and the Philippines and explore how we can transform global humanitarian response towards local humanitarian leadership. In this CID Speaker Series podcast, CID student ambassador Mark sits down with Fatema Sumar, VP for Global Programs at Oxfam America to discuss the need for transformation in humanitarian re

Harvard’s Center for International Development brought together students and scholars from across the university to celebrate 2019 Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer as he spoke about his own innovative work as well as that of his colleagues and co-laureates in the field of international development. Kremer is a member of the CID’s Faculty Advisory Council, which oversees the University-wide research center working on development challenges and solutions to global poverty. The event took place on Tuesday, November 5th in the Smith Center’s public auditorium and drew more than 200 attendees to Harvard Commons to hear Kremer speak. Throughout the evening, Kremer’s insights, the questions posed, and the sheer diversity of the expertise represented in the room came together to send a clear message: international development necessarily requires and inevitably draws scholars from a variety of fields and disciplines. Kremer’s work testifies to the synergistic relationship between research and practice: efforts to affec

Roughly one in every five births occurs in India.  Data reveal that despite improvements in the last decade, Indian children are still among the most unhealthy in the world.  In the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is home to 200 million people, 45 out of every 1000 babies die in the first month of life.  That is a higher rate of neonatal death than any country in the world except Pakistan.  Why does child health remain an enduring challenge for the Indian population?  Despite recent government programs to encourage hospital birth and build toilets, discrimination against women and people from the lower castes continues to harm child health. Today on CID's Speaker Series Podcast, Rohan Sandhu, CID student Ambassador, interviews Diane Coffey, a demographer who studies social influences on health in India. Diane co-directs r.i.c.e., a research institute for compassionate economics, which does research and policy advocacy for child health in India. www.hks.harvard.edu/centers/cid Interview recorded on October 4

Urban violence is one of the most divisive and allegedly intractable issues of our time. But as CID Senior Research Fellow Thomas Abt writes in his new book Bleeding Out, we actually possess all the tools necessary to stem violence in our cities. Coupling the latest social science with firsthand experiences in policymaking, Abt proposes a relentless focus on violence itself—not drugs, gangs, or guns. Because violence is clustering among small groups of people and places, it can be predicted and prevented using a series of evidence-informed, data-driven strategies, both in the United States and in Latin America, where 41 of the 50 most violent cities are located. In this CID Speaker Series podcast produced by Growth Lab, Rushabh Sanghvi, Research Assistant at the Growth Lab interviews Thomas Abt on his latest book and its practical solutions to the global emergency of urban violence. // https://amzn.to/2YwjsLN // Interview recorded on September 27th, 2019. About Thomas Abt: Thomas Abt is a Senior Research

The logical extension of today’s ferment in America about white privilege and male entitlement is, at the global level, about the responsibility of the United States and its citizens to the world’s poor, of all races and cultures, and especially to the world’s disempowered women in poor countries. What are the responsibilities to them of us, with privilege and power? Today on the return CID's weekly Speaker Series podcast, Growth Lab Research Assistant Ana Grisanti speaks with Nancy Birdsall about key themes in her upcoming work memoir. Nancy draws on her own life experience being born into membership of the benighted cosmopolitan elite and stumbling into work as a development economist, as a metaphor for growing awareness of the depth and costs of inequality in the world; the centrality to development of the women’s movement and women’s agency in a world of persistent patriarchy; and the challenge of global governance in a system of sovereign nations facing new risks in an interdependent, “shrinking” wor