CID Development Perspectives: Political Economy and Development: A Field at a Critical Juncture?

CID Development Perspectives: Political Economy and Development: A Field at a Critical Juncture? Featuring Vincent Pons (Harvard University) and Ben Marx (Boston University) Marx and Pons discuss the big question facing the field of political economy and development: How to address macro-level questions on institutions and culture with robust causal evidence that generalizes beyond local contexts? They discuss the role of history in informing the institutions and contexts that are the focus of present day research and how researchers can embrace the limitations of historical data that makes establishing causal links of the past difficult. They present a wide range of evidence from strengthening democracy and state capacity, to exploring culture and religion that is grappling with these questions across time and space. This talk occurred at the 2023 North East Universities Development Consortium (NEUDC) Conference at Harvard Kennedy School on November 4, 2023.