2020 was a year of widening inequality around the world. The World Economic Outlook Update published by the International Monetary Fund in January 2021 estimated the global economy contraction at -3.5 percent in 2020. The decade-long gains in eradicating global poverty were reversed, with about 100 million people estimated to be pushed back into extreme […]
Siddharth George, Assistant Professor of Economics at Boston University, is the newest faculty member of the Human Capital Initiative at the Global Development Policy Center. The Human Capital Initiative brings together an interdisciplinary team of researchers across the Boston University community to contribute to the advancement of innovative research on the political economy of human development. […]
In 2016, Saudi Arabia announced Vision 2030, an ambitious new framework to guide the kingdom’s next decade and a half of development. The central goals of the framework include diversifying the Saudi economy, strengthening government programs and investing in education and workforce development. As part of the latter objective, the Vision 2030 plan acknowledges the […]
While European Union (EU) membership offers more opportunities for convergence and limited economic volatility relative to the 1990s, it did not drastically weaken the causal generators of the developmental divide between Eastern and Western Europe. While most countries in the EU’s eastern part have followed a path of liberalism and hyper-integrationism, frustration with the effects […]
Surveys that aim to measure the prevalence of women’s work across societies yield varying results. For example, in Ghana, surveys conducted by different groups estimate that anywhere from 59 percent to 85 percent of urban women are employed, but there is no consensus on the actual number. This variation can arise for many reasons, including […]