VoxDev

VoxDev is the home of development economics

Across our articles, podcasts, videos, VoxDevLits, and blogs, experts outline the key takeaways for policy from cutting-edge research that has been reviewed by our Editorial Board.

New Economics Unpacked

The Informal Sector

Gabriel Ulyssea explains why informality is so widespread in developing countries, and how it affects economic growth.

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Check out our new podcast: Ideas in Development

Ethiopia’s economy: Mamo Mihretu on economic reform and the macroeconomic foundations of growth

Mamo Mihretu on export-led manufacturing, economic reform and the macroeconomic foundations of a growing economy.

Macroeconomics & Growth

Mamo Mihretu Kartik Akileswaran Oliver Hanney

Published 09.06.26
Vietnam’s economy: The remarkable story of the last 50 years

Vietnam’s economic transformation is one of the most dramatic in recent history. Economist and Advisor Pham Chi Lan saw it all and tells us how it happened.

Macroeconomics & Growth

Phạm Chi Lan Kartik Akileswaran Oliver Hanney

Published 27.01.26
How Costa Rica became an FDI powerhouse

Costa Rica has become a world leader in attracting FDI. We talked with the former Minister of Foreign Trade to find out how.

Trade

Andrés Valenciano Yamuni Kartik Akileswaran Oliver Hanney

Published 13.01.26

New VoxDevLit

Air Pollution

Teevrat Garg and Anant Sudarshan summarise economic research on air pollution.

Read & download here

Latest

The informal sector: Why some economies are almost entirely hidden

The informal economy – accounting for 30–90% of the labour force across developing countries – remains largely invisible to governments, undermining tax revenue, productivity, and long-term growth, and requires a combined strategy of easing formalisa...

Labour Markets

Gabriel Ulyssea

Published

21.07.26

Could cash succeed where maize has failed in Malawi?

In Malawi, elite politics sustain a maize economy riddled with corruption that traps smallholder farmers in poverty. Shifting more agricultural, social protection, and humanitarian funding towards cash-based support could disrupt this elite bargain, ...

Agriculture

Edward Archibald

Published

16.07.26

Adaptation, not adoption, is king

Scattered pilots risk overshadowing more vital infrastructure investments in the adaptation layer that can unlock AI for development. Matching AI's capabilities to real-world impact requires overcoming deployment constraints. These constraints come i...

Technology & Innovation

Sharif Kazemi Oliver Hanney Han Sheng Chia Sid Ravinutala Shahrukh Wani

Published

15.07.26

When layoffs backfire: The hidden productivity cost

After a Bangladesh factory fired workers following labour unrest, survivors who lost friends quietly cut output and quality to punish management.

Labour Markets

Robert Akerlof Anik Ashraf Rocco Macchiavello Atonu Rabbani

Published

15.07.26

Climate change politics in developing countries

Across developing countries, people are acutely aware of a changing climate through failing harvests and drying rivers, even when few connect this to global warming – yet that concern rarely becomes political demand. Why does the link between persona...

Energy & Environment

Guy Grossman

Published

15.07.26