VoxDev Development Economics

Apr 09 2025 253 ep. 21 mins 1.5k
VoxDev Development Economics Podcast artwork

Hear about the cutting edge of development economics from research to practice.

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S6 Ep14: Graduation programmes: BRAC’s approach to targeting the ultra-poor

Apr 09 2025 34 mins  
The Graduation approach to helping people to escape from poverty was pioneered in 2002 by BRAC in Bangladesh. Today the approach is used around the world. In more than 20 years, what have we learned about how it works, when it works best, and how to implement it at scale? Shameran Abed, the Executive Director of BRAC International talks to Tim Phillips about how the Graduation appr

S6 Ep13: Profit shifting hits developing countries hardest

Apr 02 2025 24 mins  
Multinational enterprises in every industry are shifting profits to low-tax jurisdictions. These corporate tax havens reduce tax revenues everywhere, but that hits hardest in developing countries where corporate taxes are a larger part of the overall tax take. The International Growth Centre has published a policy toolkit report into corporate tax havens. Ludvig Wier, the author, e

S5 Ep4: Development Dialogues: Are vocational training programmes effective?

Apr 01 2025 37 mins  
Vocational training is often seen as a silver bullet for unemployment and poverty, but does the evidence support that view? Why do so many training programs fail to lead to real job opportunities, and are we asking too much of these programs – or maybe the wrong questions entirely? In the latest episode of the collaboration between Yale’s Economic Growth Center and VoxDev, host

S6 Ep12: Can safe transport unlock women’s labour force participation?

Mar 27 2025 23 mins  
A fundamental part of women’s economic empowerment is helping women who want to work outside the home to find and keep a job. A major part of that decision is ensuring that they can travel to work without fear of stigma, harassment or violence on public transport. In Pakistan, a study set out to discover whether an offer of safe commuter transport would tempt women who are curren

S6 Ep11: Is debt leading to the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources?

Mar 19 2025 29 mins  
How does rising external debt in low-income countries affect the natural capital that sustains our livelihoods? A new paper focuses on three river basins that are vital to the livelihoods and biodiversity of the countries that surround them, suggesting ways that we can both measure and conserve that natural capital in the face of the economic forces that threaten it. Pushpam Kumar

S6 Ep10: Simon Johnson on geopolitics, AI, and the future of global development

Mar 12 2025 32 mins  
Geopolitical alliances are changing rapidly. Technological innovation is reshaping our economies. These trends offer a cocktail of risk and reward for countries in the global south. They are also both topics that are familiar to Simon Johnson of MIT. Simon speaks to Tim Phillips about how policy in developing countries should respond to President Trump’s deglobalization agenda,

S6 Ep9: Rebuilding Sudan’s digital infrastructure amidst conflict

Mar 05 2025 26 mins  
Civil war – the latest in a long series of armed conflicts – broke out in Sudan in April 2023. Today, more than half of the population needs humanitarian aid, and almost 15 million people have been displaced. The war has also devastated the digital infrastructure in Sudan, deepening the crisis. African Renaissance Ventures is a VC firm that backs entrepreneurs who use technolog

S6 Ep8: Bangladesh’s path forward: Leveraging evidence-based policy

Feb 26 2025 23 mins  
Bangladesh's development story in the 21st century is often regarded as a model of resilience and progress. But on 5 August 2024, student-led protests and public unrest caused Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s prime minister, to resign and flee to India. An interim government, led by Muhammad Yunus, took over. Six months on, Bangladesh’s political and economic future is unclear. Imra

S5 Ep3: Development dialogues: The future of evidence-based policy-making

Feb 24 2025 42 mins  
With populist politicians taking power around the world, policymakers are relying less on research and expertise, as their political narratives prioritise emotion and identity over facts. This may have long-term consequences for global development: not least in the US, where the Agency for International Development has been dismantled, with thousands of staff laid off. Critical dev

S6 Ep7: How do cash transfers impact prices?

Feb 19 2025 25 mins  
What are the price impacts of cash transfer programs? Do they raise prices as well as incomes? And what is the impact on people in the community who don’t receive the transfer? Eeshani Kandpal of the Center for Global Development is one of the researchers who has investigated this topic. She talks to Tim Phillips about the conclusions of her own research, the insights of other ec