The Institute for Economic Development (IED) is a research center which consists of faculty and graduate students within Boston University’s Department of Economics, and focuses on the economic problems of developing countries. To this end, the institute provides facilities and a supportive intellectual environment for students, faculty, and visiting scholars pursuing research in the problems of economic development, and in related areas of economic growth, international economics, and financial institutions. It consolidates previous BU economic development research centers that focused on specific regions.
Active areas of research and discussion at the IED span a broad range of issues of relevance to economic development such as agriculture, conflict, contracts, corruption, culture, discrimination, finance, fiscal policy, governance, health, human capital, inequality, industrial organization, international economics, political economy and property rights. The research methodologies employed represent a combination of theoretical, empirical, historical, and policy analyses, that uniformly aim for high standards of rigor.
Institute research activities include:
- Weekly Seminar series in Development and International Economics
- Lectures and Conferences
- Administration of research grants for IED faculty
- Production and dissemination of discussion papers
- Distinguished Visitors Program
- Annual Rosenstein-Rodan prize for best essay in development economics (award given in memory of Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, founder of the Center for Latin American Development Studies, from which IED derives its origin)
IED also provides the following resources to all graduate students in the Department of Economics:
- Editing, Research, and Travel Grants
- Ph.D. Reading Groups
- Career planning services, events, and workshops
- Graduate Economics Association
- Peer Advising
- Graduate Student Computer Labs
*Please note: The IED does not provide opportunities for internships or research assistants.