Development Research Group

International trade has historically been a force for development and poverty reduction. But trade is increasingly viewed as contributing to inequality and risk, depleting natural resources, and threatening the environment. To better understand the role of international trade on development outcomes and their sustainability and inclusivity, the World Bank and the editorial team from the Journal of International Economics are hosting a research conference in Washington, DC on September 12-13, 2024.

Note: A call for papers is open until April 30, 2024.

How can low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) build fairer and more efficient tax systems? Technological advances, novel data, and better policy coordination are creating new opportunities to rethink taxation and development.

Join us on May 7 for a discussion of new research insights with World Bank economists Oyebola Okunogbe, Pierre Bachas, and Anne Brockmeyer on Taxation for Development: Rethinking Fair and Efficient Tax Systems for the Next Decade. 

How can a programming language born from sheer necessity rise to global prominence? The story of Lua, a lightweight programming language that has gained worldwide influence, is a fascinating tale of the journey from a Brazilian innovation effort at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro to the global stage of technology.

This blog post is part of a series on the potential role industrial policy can, should, or shouldn’t play in government economic policy in low- and middle-income countries. Also see:

Productivity as a guide for industrial policies

Micro-industrial policy: The empirical evidence on whether governments can successfully directly support firms

Macro-industrial policy: Is the public procurement system an effective policy tool?

Sea level has been rising since the end of the last Ice Age, when continental ice sheets began to melt. In island nations and low-lying coastal areas sea level rise is contributing, among other things, to high tide flooding, and saltwater encroaching into farmland and freshwater aquifers. In this episode of the PBS series Energy Switch, Lead Environmental Economist Susmita Dasgupta discusses what the future could bring, and ideas of how communities could adapt to sea level rise.