Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics 2024—The Great Incoherence: Growth and Human Development in An Era of Stagnation

This two-day event will take place at both the World Bank and the Center for Global Development.

The World Bank Group’s Annual Conference on Development Economics—ABCDE—is a key forum to stimulate an exchange of ideas between leaders in global policy discussions and policymakers from the Bank’s member countries. Established in 1989 and organized by the World Bank’s Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC), ABCDE quickly became the premier venue for cutting-edge insights on how to tackle the most pressing challenges of development. Researchers presenting papers frequently went on to win the Nobel Prize for economics. The conference also played a role in shaping a broader global consensus on development policy. 

Beginning in 2024, ABCDE will be co-sponsored with a partner organization. This year, to strengthen the collaboration between researchers and policymakers, the conference will be co-organized by the Center for Global Development. CGD specializes in producing innovative economic research and convening events that drives better policy and practice by the world’s top decision makers.

Theme

The world is faced with a series of growing crises, yet leaders and the international community seem less able to respond each year. The gap between the financing that’s available and the financing that’s needed to combat climate change, build much-needed infrastructure, and invest in a new generation keeps growing, and across the world, women and young people—the majority of the population—face systematic barriers to their safety, livelihoods, and economic potential. A new approach is needed more than ever. Over two days, the 2024 ABCDE will hold a series of panels where researchers will present papers and analysis on solutions to the critical challenges the world is facing.

The first day will have panels that focus on a variety of questions related to financing and growth: How can the volume of climate finance be increased, particularly without deprioritizing other key development issues? How should the world respond to the global debt crisis and promote future economic growth? What are the implications of recent shifts in industrial policy for the future growth pathways of the Global South, and how can countries adapt? And how can private capital be mobilized for these issues and others?

A key part of the solution to many of these challenges is more inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The second day will focus on a key component of achieving this type of growth: overcoming the constraints facing women and youth in the labor market in low-and-middle-income-countries. This day will have panels on social safety nets and women’s labor force participation, norms and other constraints to women’s economic inclusion, and the economic inclusion of youth.

Schedule

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

• Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University; Board Chair, Center for Global Development 
• Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics and Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy 
• Moderator to be announced 

DAY 1 (AT THE WORLD BANK) 
Opening Remarks 

• Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics, World Bank Group 
• Masood Ahmed, President, Center for Global Development 
• Danny Quah, Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics and Dean, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy 

Industrial Policy Panel 

• David McKenzie, Lead Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank 
• Pritish Behuria, Political Economist and Senior Lecturer, The University of Manchester 
• Tristan Reed, Applied Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank 
• Ana Cusolito, Senior Economist, Markets, Competition & Technology Unit of the FCI Global Practice, World Bank 
• Ana Fernandes, Lead Economist, Trade and International Integration Unit, Development Research Group, World Bank 

Private Capital Mobilization 

• José Scheinkman, Charles and Lynn Zhang Professor of Economics, Columbia University; Theodore A. Wells '29 Professor of Economics Emeritus, Princeton University 
• Lee Seltzer, Financial Research Economist, Climate Risk Studies, Federal Reserve Bank of New York   
• Manthos Delis, Professor of Financial Economics, Audencia Business School 

Sovereign Debt 

• Christoph Trebesch, Head of the Research Center International Finance and Macroeconomics, Kiel Institute; Professor of Macroeconomics, Kiel University 
• Enrico Mallucci, Principal Economist, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System 
• Rong Qian, Senior Economist, World Bank  

DAY 2 (AT THE CENTER FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT) 

Plenary Panel: Economic Inclusion of Women and Youth (8:30-10:30am ET)

• Ashwini Deshpande, Professor and Head Department of Economics, and Founding Director, Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA), Ashoka University 
• Karen Macours, Chaired Professor, Paris School of Economics (PSE); Senior Researcher, French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) 
• Raquel Fernández, Economist and Julius Silver, Roslyn S. Silver and Enid Silver Winslow Professor of Economics, New York University 
• Deon Filmer, Director of the Research Group, World Bank (moderator) 

Social Safety Nets and Women’s Labor Force Participation in LMICs (11:00am-12:30pm ET)

• Teresa Molina, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Research Affiliate, IZA Institute of Labor Economics; Research Fellow, UHERO; Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development 
• Shalini Roy, Senior Research Fellow in the Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) 
• Kehinde Ajayi, Senior Fellow and Director, Gender Equality and Inclusion Program, Center for Global Development 
• Eeshani Kandpal, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development 
• Maria Caridad Araujo, Chief of the Gender and Diversity Division, Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) (moderator) 

Norms and Other Constraints to Women’s Economic inclusion (2:15-3:45pm ET)

• Pamela Jakiela, Associate Professor in Economics, Williams College; Non-Resident Fellow, Center for Global Development 
• S Anukriti, Senior Economist in the Development Research Group (Human Development Team), World Bank 
• Nishith Prakash, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Northeastern University 
• Rachel Heath, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Washington 
• Somik Lall, Staff Director, 2024 World Bank World Development Report (moderator) 

Economic Inclusion of Youth (4:00-5:30pm ET)

• Oyebola Okunogbe, Economist, Human Development Team, World Bank Development Research Group 
• Thomas Ginn, Research Fellow, Center for Global Development 
• Isaac M. Mbiti, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy 
• Owen Ozier, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, Williams College 

Moderator to be announced