LibGuides: Economics: Development Economics: Institutions and People

Other Institutions

United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research
UNU-WIDER's mandate
To undertake multidisciplinary research and policy analysis on structural changes affecting the living conditions of the world's poorest people.

To provide a forum for professional interaction and the advocacy of policies leading to robust, equitable and environmentally sustainable growth.

To promote capacity strengthening and training for scholars and government officials in the field of economic and social policy making.
Development Economics Group
The mission of the Development Economics Group (DEC) is to contribute to an improved understanding of the processes of sustainable development, institutions, conflict and poverty alleviation. To this end, DEC selects teaching material and focuses on research that can shed light on the dynamics of factor productivity and resource use in developing countries.

NGO's

Below find a list of some of the Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that concern themselves with the issues of Development Economics, development, aid, and poverty. This is a non-exhaustive list and can be added to as necessary. Put your recommendations in the comments box.

African Development Forum
"The African Development Forum (ADF), an Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) flagship biennial event created in 1999, is a multi-stakeholder platform for debating, discussing and initiating concrete strategies for Africa's development. It is convened in collaboration with the African Union Commission (AUC), African Development Bank (AfDB) and other key partners to establish an African-driven development agenda that reflects consensus and leads to specific programmes for implementation."
Asian Development Bank
Since its founding in 1966, ADB has been driven by an inspiration and dedication to improving people’s lives in Asia and the Pacific. By targeting our investments wisely, in partnership with our developing member countries and other stakeholders, we can alleviate poverty and help create a world in which everyone can share in the benefits of sustained and inclusive growth.
Center for Global Development
"The Center for Global Development works to reduce global poverty and inequality through rigorous research and active engagement with the policy community to make the world a more prosperous, just, and safe place for us all. A nimble, independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit think tank, CGD combines world-class research with policy analysis and innovative communications to turn ideas into action."
International Monetary Fund
"The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an organization of 188 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world."
UN Economic commission for Africa
"Established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations (UN) in 1958 as one of the UN's five regional commissions, ECA's mandate is to promote the economic and social development of its member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international cooperation for Africa's development."
UN Women
"In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In doing so, UN Member States took an historic step in accelerating the Organization’s goals on gender equality and the empowerment of women."
Transparency International
"In 1993, a few individuals decided to take a stance against corruption and created Transparency International. Now present in more than 100 countries, the movement works relentlessly to stir the world’s collective conscience and bring about change. "
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
"UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in 177 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations."

Who's Who

The field of Development Economics counts a number of famous Economists, including those who are either a Nobel laureate or Clark Medal winner, two of the most prestigious prizes in Economics. In the books, journal articles, videos, blogs and podcasts you should have encountered the following people: Ha Joon Chang, Paul Collier, Ester Duflo, William Easterly, Dambisa Moyo, Jeffrey Sachs, Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz.

For more extensive information on their research and links to their CVs and educational institutions visit the People & Institutions part of the UWCSEA-East Economics Research Guide.

Ama r tya Sen

"An Indian economist and a Nobel laureate. He has made contributions to welfare economics, social choice theory, economic and social justice, economic theories of famines, and indexes of the measure of well-being of citizens of developing countries. He was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998. In 1999, he was awarded with Bharat Ratna 'the highest civilian award in India' by the President of India.

He is currently the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University. He is also a senior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows, distinguished fellow of All Souls College, Oxford and a Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge."

Joseph Stiglitz

"Stiglitz helped create a new branch of economics, "The Economics of Information," exploring the consequences of information asymmetries and pioneering such pivotal concepts as adverse selection and moral hazard, which have now become standard tools not only of theorists, but of policy analysts. He has made major contributions to macro-economics and monetary theory, to development economics and trade theory, to public and corporate finance, to the theories of industrial organization and rural organization, and to the theories of welfare economics and of income and wealth distribution. In the 1980s, he helped revive interest in the economics of R&D."

William Easterly

"William Easterly is Professor of Economics at New York University, joint with Africa House, and Co-Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute. He is editor of Aid Watch blog, Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and Co-Editor of the Journal of Development Economics. He is the author of The White Man’s Burden: How the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good (Penguin, 2006), The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics (MIT, 2001), 3 other co-edited books, and 59 articles in refereed economics journals. His areas of expertise are the determinants of long-run economic growth, the political economy of development, and the effectiveness of foreign aid. He has worked in most areas of the developing world, most heavily in Africa, Latin America, and Russia.His work has helped explain the circumstances in which markets do not work well, and how selective government intervention can improve their performance."

Ha Joon Chang

"One of the leading heterodox economists and institutional economists specialising in development economics. Currently a Reader in the Political Economy of Development at the University of Cambridge, Chang is the author of several widely-discussed policy books, most notably Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective (2002)."