Center for international development
Encyclopedia
The Center for International Development at Harvard University (CID) is a nonprofit, academic research center located at Harvard University
. As Harvard’s primary center for research on international development, CID works to generate shared and sustainable prosperity in developing economies. This research hub actively creates, applies, and integrates knowledge from across the university and beyond to advance understanding of development challenges and solutions.
The Center’s mission is to improve development practice and resolve the dilemmas of public policy associated with eradicating global poverty. To accomplish this mission, CID engages directly with policymakers and governments to effect good policy decisions and increase prosperity in all regions of the globe.
CID's primary activities and programs seek to:
, Dani Rodrik
, Andres Velasco, and Lant Pritchett
, CID's Growth Lab works to understand the dynamics of economic growth and translate those insights into more effective policymaking in developing countries. The Lab serves as the global hub for Structural Transformation, which places complexity at the center of the development story and uncovers how countries can shift to industries that offer increased productivity.
, Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the Kennedy School
and former Minister for Planning in Venezuela
, became the Director of CID in 2005, and Marcela Escobari is the Executive Director. CID draws upon faculty, staff, and researchers from various parts of Harvard University
such as:
CID also has a Faculty Steering Committee, which includes noted Harvard faculty such as:
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. As Harvard’s primary center for research on international development, CID works to generate shared and sustainable prosperity in developing economies. This research hub actively creates, applies, and integrates knowledge from across the university and beyond to advance understanding of development challenges and solutions.
The Center’s mission is to improve development practice and resolve the dilemmas of public policy associated with eradicating global poverty. To accomplish this mission, CID engages directly with policymakers and governments to effect good policy decisions and increase prosperity in all regions of the globe.
CID's primary activities and programs seek to:
- Change the way that growth strategies are conceived, designed, and implemented
- Reinvent production-related policies to facilitate countries' move to higher productivity activities
- Extend markets to the underserved and empower the disenfranchised
- Improve governance and service delivery in education, health, and other social services
- Promote the design of institutions, policies, and practices that support sustainable development to meets human needs while conserving the earth's life support systems
The Empowerment Lab
To advance global research on financial empowerment, CID launched the Empowerment Lab to promote innovations that extend the reach of markets to developing countries. The Lab focuses on research and activities to promote economic inclusion, uncovering and promoting finding sustainable ways to empower the global poor by providing them with access to key markets.The Growth Lab
Led by Ricardo HausmannRicardo Hausmann
Ricardo Hausmann is a former Venezuelan Minister of Planning and Head of the "Presidential Office of Coordination and Planning" and current Director of Harvard's Center for International Development and a Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at John F...
, Dani Rodrik
Dani Rodrik
Dani Rodrik is a Turkish economist and Rafiq Hariri Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, teaching in the School's MPA/ID Program. He has published widely in the areas of international economics, economic development, and...
, Andres Velasco, and Lant Pritchett
Lant Pritchett
-Biography:He was born in Utah in 1959 and raised in Boise, Idaho. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1983 with a B.S. in Economics, after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Argentina...
, CID's Growth Lab works to understand the dynamics of economic growth and translate those insights into more effective policymaking in developing countries. The Lab serves as the global hub for Structural Transformation, which places complexity at the center of the development story and uncovers how countries can shift to industries that offer increased productivity.
The Micro-Development Initiative
The Micro-Development Initiative (MDI) promotes and supports applied microeconomic development research to inform public policy in low-income countries. MDI aims to improve the effectiveness of international development policies, programs, and institutions through research based on rigorous assessment and scientific evaluation. The research of MDI is designed and conducted in close collaboration with local governments, civil society organizations, and other in-country partners in order to best ensure local relevance and ownership of research findings for policy impact.The Sustainability Science Program
Harvard's Sustainability Science Program harnesses the University's strengths to promote the design of institutions, policies, and practices that support sustainable development. The Program addresses the challenge of sustainable development by advancing scientific understanding of human-environment systems, improving linkages between research and policy communities, and building capacity for linking knowledge with action to promote sustainability.The Entrepreneurial Finance Lab
The Entrepreneurial Finance Lab (EFL) aims to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of the developing world's “missing middle.” This includes promising companies not served by existing models of finance because they are too large for microfinance and often too small for venture capital. EFL facilitated profitable investment in the missing middle by providing financial institutions with rigorous, low-cost, low-information methods to identify high-potential entrepreneurs.The Mexico Program
The Mexico Program is an academic collaboration between the Harvard Kennedy School and the Graduate School of Public Administration and Public Policy (EGAP) of a leading private Mexican university, the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM). This program is sponsored by ITESM and aims to foster collaboration in research and teaching between EGAP and Harvard Kennedy School faculty.The Migration Project
The Migration Project is committed to understanding and strengthening the links between migration, remittances, and prosperity. The Project is also working to expand the possibilities for comprehensive immigration reform in the U.S. by bringing a development lens to the domestic policy debate.Publications
Faculty and fellows affiliated with CID frequently publish books, academic articles, working papers, reports, op-eds, and other documents related to international development. Publications are regularly updated at the CID Publications Page.Events and Updates
During the academic year, CID hosts numerous events for the Harvard community and the interested public. To receive notice of events and other information from CID, register for the weekly listserv announcement (sent late August to mid-June).CID Leadership
Ricardo HausmannRicardo Hausmann
Ricardo Hausmann is a former Venezuelan Minister of Planning and Head of the "Presidential Office of Coordination and Planning" and current Director of Harvard's Center for International Development and a Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at John F...
, Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the Kennedy School
Kennedy School
The Kennedy School is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain.-External links:*...
and former Minister for Planning in Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, became the Director of CID in 2005, and Marcela Escobari is the Executive Director. CID draws upon faculty, staff, and researchers from various parts of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
such as:
- Harvard Kennedy School of Government
- Harvard Faculty of Arts and SciencesHarvard Faculty of Arts and SciencesThe Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences is the largest of the seven faculties that constitute Harvard University.Headquartered principally in Cambridge, Massachusetts and centered in the historic Harvard Yard, FAS is the only division of the university responsible for both undergraduate and...
- Harvard School of Public HealthHarvard School of Public HealthThe Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
- Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
- Harvard Graduate School of EducationHarvard Graduate School of EducationThe Harvard Graduate School of Education is one of the graduate schools of Harvard University, and is one of the top schools of education in the United States. It was founded in 1920, the same year it invented the Ed.D...
- Harvard Graduate School of DesignHarvard Graduate School of DesignThe Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
- Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
- Harvard Business SchoolHarvard Business SchoolHarvard Business School is the graduate business school of Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts, United States and is widely recognized as one of the top business schools in the world. The school offers the world's largest full-time MBA program, doctoral programs, and many executive...
CID also has a Faculty Steering Committee, which includes noted Harvard faculty such as:
- Philippe AghionPhilippe AghionPhilippe Aghion is a French economist. He is Robert C. Waggoner Professor of Economics at Harvard University, having previously been Professor at University College London, an Official Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, and an Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology .His main...
(Department of Economics) - William C. ClarkWilliam C. ClarkWilliam C. Clark is an American ecologist and environmental policy analyst, and Harvey Brooks Professor of International Science, Public Policy and Human Development at the John F...
(Kennedy SchoolKennedy SchoolThe Kennedy School is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain.-External links:*...
) - Merilee Grindle (Kennedy SchoolKennedy SchoolThe Kennedy School is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain.-External links:*...
) - Michael R. Kremer (Department of Economics)
- Sendhil MullainathanSendhil MullainathanSendhil Mullainathan is a Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He was hired with tenure by Harvard in 2004 after having spent six years at MIT, first as a junior faculty member and then as a full professor. He is a recipient of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" and conducts research on...
(Department of Economics) - Rohini Pande (Kennedy SchoolKennedy SchoolThe Kennedy School is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain.-External links:*...
) - Lant PritchettLant Pritchett-Biography:He was born in Utah in 1959 and raised in Boise, Idaho. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1983 with a B.S. in Economics, after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Argentina...
(Kennedy SchoolKennedy SchoolThe Kennedy School is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain.-External links:*...
) - James Robinson (Department of Government)
- Dani RodrikDani RodrikDani Rodrik is a Turkish economist and Rafiq Hariri Professor of International Political Economy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, teaching in the School's MPA/ID Program. He has published widely in the areas of international economics, economic development, and...
(Kennedy SchoolKennedy SchoolThe Kennedy School is a former elementary school that has been converted to a hotel, movie theater and dining establishment in northeast Portland, Oregon. The facility is operated by the McMenamins chain.-External links:*...
)