Emaan Siddique
@emaansiddique.bsky.social
Deputy Managing Editor @voxdev.bsky.social
Writes thedevelopingeconomist.substack.com
Writes thedevelopingeconomist.substack.com
Pinned
How economic evidence – and its gaps – can inform policymaking at COP30
COP30 comes with an ambitious agenda for advancing climate goals amid unprecedented global uncertainty. How can the economic evidence covered on VoxDev since COP29 – on biodiversity, agriculture, citi...
voxdev.org
With a month to go until #COP30, it's crucial that policymakers consider recent economic evidence – and the subsequent gaps – when determining priorities for climate action.
In this blog, I reflect on climate research featured on @voxdev.bsky.social: voxdev.org/topic/energy...
In this blog, I reflect on climate research featured on @voxdev.bsky.social: voxdev.org/topic/energy...
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
This week we featured research on AI, gender, electrification, mobile money and more!
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-06022026
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-06022026
This week in development economics at VoxDev: 06/02/2026
This week we featured research on AI, gender, electrification, mobile money and more!
voxdev.org
February 6, 2026 at 12:30 PM
This week we featured research on AI, gender, electrification, mobile money and more!
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-06022026
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-06022026
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Can public works lift the urban poor?
Simon Franklin’s research on Ethiopia’s city-based public works shows big spillovers – higher private-sector wages, better living conditions – but also why these programmes aren’t a cure-all for unemployment or long-term poverty.
Simon Franklin’s research on Ethiopia’s city-based public works shows big spillovers – higher private-sector wages, better living conditions – but also why these programmes aren’t a cure-all for unemployment or long-term poverty.
February 6, 2026 at 11:55 AM
Can public works lift the urban poor?
Simon Franklin’s research on Ethiopia’s city-based public works shows big spillovers – higher private-sector wages, better living conditions – but also why these programmes aren’t a cure-all for unemployment or long-term poverty.
Simon Franklin’s research on Ethiopia’s city-based public works shows big spillovers – higher private-sector wages, better living conditions – but also why these programmes aren’t a cure-all for unemployment or long-term poverty.
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Electricity clearly improves people’s quality of life. But in Rwanda, even one decade after communities were connected, rural electrification had limited effects on incomes, employment, and broader economic development.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
February 5, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Electricity clearly improves people’s quality of life. But in Rwanda, even one decade after communities were connected, rural electrification had limited effects on incomes, employment, and broader economic development.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
While policy measures including higher prices and usage restrictions saved Cape Town from running out of water, they reduced demand more among wealthy households who were able to substitute away from municipal water.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
February 3, 2026 at 1:47 PM
While policy measures including higher prices and usage restrictions saved Cape Town from running out of water, they reduced demand more among wealthy households who were able to substitute away from municipal water.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
🆕 Gender inequality in labour markets: Why growth and education are not enough 📢
Today on VoxDevTalks w/ Barbara Petrongolo (@oxfordecondept.bsky.social) & @ashwinideshpande.bsky.social (Ashoka University @lseinequalities.bsky.social).
Link below ⤵️
Today on VoxDevTalks w/ Barbara Petrongolo (@oxfordecondept.bsky.social) & @ashwinideshpande.bsky.social (Ashoka University @lseinequalities.bsky.social).
Link below ⤵️
February 4, 2026 at 9:52 AM
🆕 Gender inequality in labour markets: Why growth and education are not enough 📢
Today on VoxDevTalks w/ Barbara Petrongolo (@oxfordecondept.bsky.social) & @ashwinideshpande.bsky.social (Ashoka University @lseinequalities.bsky.social).
Link below ⤵️
Today on VoxDevTalks w/ Barbara Petrongolo (@oxfordecondept.bsky.social) & @ashwinideshpande.bsky.social (Ashoka University @lseinequalities.bsky.social).
Link below ⤵️
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Mobile money taxes raise transaction costs and reduce usage, creating sizable efficiency losses – the burden falls disproportionately on unbanked and rural users.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
February 4, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Mobile money taxes raise transaction costs and reduce usage, creating sizable efficiency losses – the burden falls disproportionately on unbanked and rural users.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
How can public works reduce poverty beyond short-term jobs?
Manisha Shah (@natureatcal.bsky.social) studies India’s massive rural employment programme, showing how infrastructure, wages and even satellite night-time lights reveal economy-wide effects – and why context really matters.
Link below⤵️
Manisha Shah (@natureatcal.bsky.social) studies India’s massive rural employment programme, showing how infrastructure, wages and even satellite night-time lights reveal economy-wide effects – and why context really matters.
Link below⤵️
February 4, 2026 at 2:58 PM
How can public works reduce poverty beyond short-term jobs?
Manisha Shah (@natureatcal.bsky.social) studies India’s massive rural employment programme, showing how infrastructure, wages and even satellite night-time lights reveal economy-wide effects – and why context really matters.
Link below⤵️
Manisha Shah (@natureatcal.bsky.social) studies India’s massive rural employment programme, showing how infrastructure, wages and even satellite night-time lights reveal economy-wide effects – and why context really matters.
Link below⤵️
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
In Bangladesh’s garment sector, firms often under-promote women because of biased beliefs and distorted learning about women’s managerial ability. However, temporary, low-risk trials can correct these beliefs and lead to sustained increases in female supervisors.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
February 5, 2026 at 1:54 PM
In Bangladesh’s garment sector, firms often under-promote women because of biased beliefs and distorted learning about women’s managerial ability. However, temporary, low-risk trials can correct these beliefs and lead to sustained increases in female supervisors.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
🆕 Do public works programmes work?
In this episode of Economics Unpacked, Manisha Shah (UC Berkeley) and Simon Franklin (QMUL) discuss NREGA in India, and PSNP in Ethiopia.
🔗 Link below ⤵️
In this episode of Economics Unpacked, Manisha Shah (UC Berkeley) and Simon Franklin (QMUL) discuss NREGA in India, and PSNP in Ethiopia.
🔗 Link below ⤵️
February 2, 2026 at 12:48 PM
🆕 Do public works programmes work?
In this episode of Economics Unpacked, Manisha Shah (UC Berkeley) and Simon Franklin (QMUL) discuss NREGA in India, and PSNP in Ethiopia.
🔗 Link below ⤵️
In this episode of Economics Unpacked, Manisha Shah (UC Berkeley) and Simon Franklin (QMUL) discuss NREGA in India, and PSNP in Ethiopia.
🔗 Link below ⤵️
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Using surnames, we show that colonial-era hierarchies continue to shape access to Colombia’s best schools and elite social networks, limiting intergenerational mobility through both education and marriage.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
February 2, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Using surnames, we show that colonial-era hierarchies continue to shape access to Colombia’s best schools and elite social networks, limiting intergenerational mobility through both education and marriage.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Egypt’s persistently low female labour force participation reflects not a lack of education, but structural barriers that prevent women’s educational gains from translating into sustained employment.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
🆕 Why is female labour force participation still so low in Egypt?
Today on VoxDev, Rana Hendy (American University in Cairo) discusses how Egypt's persistently low FLFP does not reflect a lack of education, but rather structural barriers: https://ow.ly/pEQA50Y5OVG
Today on VoxDev, Rana Hendy (American University in Cairo) discusses how Egypt's persistently low FLFP does not reflect a lack of education, but rather structural barriers: https://ow.ly/pEQA50Y5OVG
Why is female labour force participation still so low in Egypt?
Egypt’s persistently low female labour force participation reflects not a lack of education, but structural barriers – segmented labour demand, heavy unpaid care burdens, restrictive social norms, and weak policy enforcement – that prevent women’s educational gains from translating into sustained employment.
ow.ly
January 30, 2026 at 12:06 PM
Egypt’s persistently low female labour force participation reflects not a lack of education, but structural barriers that prevent women’s educational gains from translating into sustained employment.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Do cash transfers discourage work, or boost the economy?
@jnaritomi.bsky.social's research on Bolsa Família in Brazil shows that giving cash to poor families can create jobs, stimulate local economies, and even benefit those who never receive a payment.
@jnaritomi.bsky.social's research on Bolsa Família in Brazil shows that giving cash to poor families can create jobs, stimulate local economies, and even benefit those who never receive a payment.
January 30, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Do cash transfers discourage work, or boost the economy?
@jnaritomi.bsky.social's research on Bolsa Família in Brazil shows that giving cash to poor families can create jobs, stimulate local economies, and even benefit those who never receive a payment.
@jnaritomi.bsky.social's research on Bolsa Família in Brazil shows that giving cash to poor families can create jobs, stimulate local economies, and even benefit those who never receive a payment.
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Citizen training that builds households’ practical capability to segregate waste can deliver large, persistent and socially amplified improvements in waste management, making it a highly cost-effective climate policy in resource-constrained cities.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
🆕 Why waste segregation policies fail – and how training makes them work
Today on VoxDev, Swati Dhingra (Centre for Economic Performance) & Stephen Machin discuss how training citizens to segregate waste can deliver large gains in waste management: https://ow.ly/pycB50Y5j4K
Today on VoxDev, Swati Dhingra (Centre for Economic Performance) & Stephen Machin discuss how training citizens to segregate waste can deliver large gains in waste management: https://ow.ly/pycB50Y5j4K
Why waste segregation policies fail – and how training makes them work
Citizen training that builds households’ practical capability to segregate waste can deliver large, persistent and socially amplified improvements in waste management, making it a highly cost-effective climate policy in resource-constrained cities.
ow.ly
January 29, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Citizen training that builds households’ practical capability to segregate waste can deliver large, persistent and socially amplified improvements in waste management, making it a highly cost-effective climate policy in resource-constrained cities.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
New evidence from Chile finds that in-situ slum upgrading delivers larger gains in local economic development, both within treated slums and in surrounding neighbourhoods, at a lower cost than policies that relocate slum populations elsewhere.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
January 29, 2026 at 1:33 PM
New evidence from Chile finds that in-situ slum upgrading delivers larger gains in local economic development, both within treated slums and in surrounding neighbourhoods, at a lower cost than policies that relocate slum populations elsewhere.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
🆕 The future of communicating science
I’ve been thinking a lot about what a website like @voxdev.bsky.social looks like in 2030. So I decided to put all of my thoughts into one long, meandering blog.
I would love to hear people's thoughts/feedback.
Read ⤵️ olihanney.substack.com/p/the-future...
I’ve been thinking a lot about what a website like @voxdev.bsky.social looks like in 2030. So I decided to put all of my thoughts into one long, meandering blog.
I would love to hear people's thoughts/feedback.
Read ⤵️ olihanney.substack.com/p/the-future...
The future of communicating science
I’ve been thinking about what a website like VoxDev looks like in 2030. Here are, in my view, the key trends impacting communications today, and the strategies I believe will continue to be a success.
olihanney.substack.com
January 29, 2026 at 1:01 PM
🆕 The future of communicating science
I’ve been thinking a lot about what a website like @voxdev.bsky.social looks like in 2030. So I decided to put all of my thoughts into one long, meandering blog.
I would love to hear people's thoughts/feedback.
Read ⤵️ olihanney.substack.com/p/the-future...
I’ve been thinking a lot about what a website like @voxdev.bsky.social looks like in 2030. So I decided to put all of my thoughts into one long, meandering blog.
I would love to hear people's thoughts/feedback.
Read ⤵️ olihanney.substack.com/p/the-future...
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Exposure to less restrictive reproductive health policies via international migration leads to lower fertility in origin communities through the diffusion of new knowledge, preferences, and behaviour.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
January 28, 2026 at 1:50 PM
Exposure to less restrictive reproductive health policies via international migration leads to lower fertility in origin communities through the diffusion of new knowledge, preferences, and behaviour.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
What happens years later when governments give poor families cash?
@susanwparker-mx.bsky.social's research on Progresa in Mexico shows long-term gains in education, women’s employment, and income – and highlights what’s lost when evidence-based policy is abandoned.
@susanwparker-mx.bsky.social's research on Progresa in Mexico shows long-term gains in education, women’s employment, and income – and highlights what’s lost when evidence-based policy is abandoned.
January 28, 2026 at 11:37 AM
What happens years later when governments give poor families cash?
@susanwparker-mx.bsky.social's research on Progresa in Mexico shows long-term gains in education, women’s employment, and income – and highlights what’s lost when evidence-based policy is abandoned.
@susanwparker-mx.bsky.social's research on Progresa in Mexico shows long-term gains in education, women’s employment, and income – and highlights what’s lost when evidence-based policy is abandoned.
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
🆕 African agriculture's underappreciated supply side
Today on VoxDevTalks, @hopecm.bsky.social (UIUC) discusses how understanding the risks, incentives, and constraints faced by agro-dealers is essential for sustained productivity gains: voxdev.org/topic/agricu...
Today on VoxDevTalks, @hopecm.bsky.social (UIUC) discusses how understanding the risks, incentives, and constraints faced by agro-dealers is essential for sustained productivity gains: voxdev.org/topic/agricu...
January 28, 2026 at 9:39 AM
🆕 African agriculture's underappreciated supply side
Today on VoxDevTalks, @hopecm.bsky.social (UIUC) discusses how understanding the risks, incentives, and constraints faced by agro-dealers is essential for sustained productivity gains: voxdev.org/topic/agricu...
Today on VoxDevTalks, @hopecm.bsky.social (UIUC) discusses how understanding the risks, incentives, and constraints faced by agro-dealers is essential for sustained productivity gains: voxdev.org/topic/agricu...
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Formally including Ugandan women in commercial agriculture – through contract ownership or behaviour-change interventions – can increase women’s empowerment without reducing productivity, and with positive spillovers for household welfare and gender relations.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
January 27, 2026 at 4:49 PM
Formally including Ugandan women in commercial agriculture – through contract ownership or behaviour-change interventions – can increase women’s empowerment without reducing productivity, and with positive spillovers for household welfare and gender relations.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
A school-based career exploration programme in India raised female students’ aspirations and confidence by improving access to information and role models, but persistent structural constraints prevented these gains from translating into medium-term behavioural change.
January 27, 2026 at 4:21 PM
A school-based career exploration programme in India raised female students’ aspirations and confidence by improving access to information and role models, but persistent structural constraints prevented these gains from translating into medium-term behavioural change.
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Global poverty trends look radically different depending on the poverty line used. A new measure that doesn’t depend on ‘lines’ – the average time needed to earn a dollar – shows that global poverty has fallen sharply, by about 55% since 1990.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
January 26, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Global poverty trends look radically different depending on the poverty line used. A new measure that doesn’t depend on ‘lines’ – the average time needed to earn a dollar – shows that global poverty has fallen sharply, by about 55% since 1990.
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
🆕 Conditional cash transfers: Do they work?
We are really excited about our new video series - Economics Unpacked!
In our first episode, @susanwparker-mx.bsky.social and @jnaritomi.bsky.social discuss Progresa in Mexico, and Bolsa Familia in Brazil.
We are really excited about our new video series - Economics Unpacked!
In our first episode, @susanwparker-mx.bsky.social and @jnaritomi.bsky.social discuss Progresa in Mexico, and Bolsa Familia in Brazil.
January 26, 2026 at 12:24 PM
🆕 Conditional cash transfers: Do they work?
We are really excited about our new video series - Economics Unpacked!
In our first episode, @susanwparker-mx.bsky.social and @jnaritomi.bsky.social discuss Progresa in Mexico, and Bolsa Familia in Brazil.
We are really excited about our new video series - Economics Unpacked!
In our first episode, @susanwparker-mx.bsky.social and @jnaritomi.bsky.social discuss Progresa in Mexico, and Bolsa Familia in Brazil.
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Senegal enters 2026 with a soaring public debt and very limited degrees of freedom. So, what should the government do?
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
January 23, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Senegal enters 2026 with a soaring public debt and very limited degrees of freedom. So, what should the government do?
Read today's article to learn more:
Read today's article to learn more:
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
Children are ubiquitous in African cities but largely absent from development economics research. Here’s what we know about children’s schooling once they’ve moved to the city.
January 23, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Children are ubiquitous in African cities but largely absent from development economics research. Here’s what we know about children’s schooling once they’ve moved to the city.
Reposted by Emaan Siddique
This week we featured research on aid, debt crises, 'bad' oil and more!
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-23012026
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-23012026
This week in development economics at VoxDev: 23/01/2026
This week we featured research on aid, debt crises, 'bad' oil and more!
voxdev.org
January 23, 2026 at 12:19 PM
This week we featured research on aid, debt crises, 'bad' oil and more!
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-23012026
Read a summary of this work here: https://voxdev.org/topic/week-development-economics-voxdev-23012026