James Allen IV
@jealleniv.bsky.social
Development Economist. Associate Research Fellow at
@IFPRI. PhD @UMichEcon, MS @MSUAFRE, BA @almacollege. RPCV Mali. All opinions are my own.
Personal Website: www.jamesalleniv.com
@IFPRI. PhD @UMichEcon, MS @MSUAFRE, BA @almacollege. RPCV Mali. All opinions are my own.
Personal Website: www.jamesalleniv.com
Great paper! Measuring literal spillovers... diverted floodwater from treated firms building concrete flood barriers to others nearby downhill. But these negative spillovers can be addressed by community meetings to enable collective action.
#NEUDC2025 🌍🌱 Session on Climate Adaptation
Molly Doruska from Cornell University will present:
“Flood Risk and Differential Firm Investment: Evidence from Dakar, Senegal”
#TuftsUniversity
Molly Doruska from Cornell University will present:
“Flood Risk and Differential Firm Investment: Evidence from Dakar, Senegal”
#TuftsUniversity
November 8, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Great paper! Measuring literal spillovers... diverted floodwater from treated firms building concrete flood barriers to others nearby downhill. But these negative spillovers can be addressed by community meetings to enable collective action.
November 8, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Wishing everyone safe (un-cancelled) flights to #NEUDC2025!
If you make it, check out Block 4, Session 19: "Information, Governance and Public Service Delivery" w/ myself, @wsandholtz.bsky.social @AditiSingh095 @saritaoreq
#NEUDC
If you make it, check out Block 4, Session 19: "Information, Governance and Public Service Delivery" w/ myself, @wsandholtz.bsky.social @AditiSingh095 @saritaoreq
#NEUDC
November 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Wishing everyone safe (un-cancelled) flights to #NEUDC2025!
If you make it, check out Block 4, Session 19: "Information, Governance and Public Service Delivery" w/ myself, @wsandholtz.bsky.social @AditiSingh095 @saritaoreq
#NEUDC
If you make it, check out Block 4, Session 19: "Information, Governance and Public Service Delivery" w/ myself, @wsandholtz.bsky.social @AditiSingh095 @saritaoreq
#NEUDC
Today's @ifpri.org Applied Micro & Dev speaker is @eduardomontero.bsky.social (U Chicago) on “Fallow Lengths and the Structure of Property Rights"
Communal land rights were more common where fallow needs are greater, affecting life today.👇
w/ @elerossignol.bsky.social & @saralowes.bsky.social
Communal land rights were more common where fallow needs are greater, affecting life today.👇
w/ @elerossignol.bsky.social & @saralowes.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 5:11 PM
Today's @ifpri.org Applied Micro & Dev speaker is @eduardomontero.bsky.social (U Chicago) on “Fallow Lengths and the Structure of Property Rights"
Communal land rights were more common where fallow needs are greater, affecting life today.👇
w/ @elerossignol.bsky.social & @saralowes.bsky.social
Communal land rights were more common where fallow needs are greater, affecting life today.👇
w/ @elerossignol.bsky.social & @saralowes.bsky.social
Just got back from fieldwork & here's what I love about working in Senegal:
🙂 Amazing people: Smart, hospitable & love to laugh.
🍛 Yummy food: Fresh seafood, chicken yassa & thiebou rice
🏝️ Moving history: Ancient African kingdoms, slavery, colonization & a vibrant modern era.
🙂 Amazing people: Smart, hospitable & love to laugh.
🍛 Yummy food: Fresh seafood, chicken yassa & thiebou rice
🏝️ Moving history: Ancient African kingdoms, slavery, colonization & a vibrant modern era.
November 5, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Just got back from fieldwork & here's what I love about working in Senegal:
🙂 Amazing people: Smart, hospitable & love to laugh.
🍛 Yummy food: Fresh seafood, chicken yassa & thiebou rice
🏝️ Moving history: Ancient African kingdoms, slavery, colonization & a vibrant modern era.
🙂 Amazing people: Smart, hospitable & love to laugh.
🍛 Yummy food: Fresh seafood, chicken yassa & thiebou rice
🏝️ Moving history: Ancient African kingdoms, slavery, colonization & a vibrant modern era.
Do cash transfers (CTs) cause price inflation? 💸➡️📈
Excited to share a new Evidence Brief joint with @ugentilini.bsky.social reviewing 12 studies of CTs on price changes in LMICs that offer practical insights for researchers and policymakers.
Check it out: hdl.handle.net/10568/177175
Excited to share a new Evidence Brief joint with @ugentilini.bsky.social reviewing 12 studies of CTs on price changes in LMICs that offer practical insights for researchers and policymakers.
Check it out: hdl.handle.net/10568/177175
October 28, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Do cash transfers (CTs) cause price inflation? 💸➡️📈
Excited to share a new Evidence Brief joint with @ugentilini.bsky.social reviewing 12 studies of CTs on price changes in LMICs that offer practical insights for researchers and policymakers.
Check it out: hdl.handle.net/10568/177175
Excited to share a new Evidence Brief joint with @ugentilini.bsky.social reviewing 12 studies of CTs on price changes in LMICs that offer practical insights for researchers and policymakers.
Check it out: hdl.handle.net/10568/177175
Joel Mokyr just won (half of) the 2025 Nobel in Economics! What lessons does his work hold for today’s developing economies? See my short post 👇
www.linkedin.com/posts/james-...
www.linkedin.com/posts/james-...
🥇 Joel Mokyr just won (half of) the 2025 Nobel in Economics! An economic historian, he studies how technology and culture fueled the Industrial Revolution. What lessons does his work hold for… | James...
🥇 Joel Mokyr just won (half of) the 2025 Nobel in Economics! An economic historian, he studies how technology and culture fueled the Industrial Revolution. What lessons does his work hold for today’s ...
www.linkedin.com
October 14, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Joel Mokyr just won (half of) the 2025 Nobel in Economics! What lessons does his work hold for today’s developing economies? See my short post 👇
www.linkedin.com/posts/james-...
www.linkedin.com/posts/james-...
What are the chances!?! @wsandholtz.bsky.social was selected to by my #NEUDC discussant AGAIN!
Double lucky for me! Double sorry for him. :)
Double lucky for me! Double sorry for him. :)
October 10, 2025 at 5:25 PM
What are the chances!?! @wsandholtz.bsky.social was selected to by my #NEUDC discussant AGAIN!
Double lucky for me! Double sorry for him. :)
Double lucky for me! Double sorry for him. :)
Drones are now pervasive in💥warfare &🎆lightshows, but what about🌾agriculture? In just the last 5 years, millions of farmers—mostly in Asia—have started using drones for farming.
New Science commentary discusses the rapid early rise and possible implications of drone farming: (links below)
New Science commentary discusses the rapid early rise and possible implications of drone farming: (links below)
September 18, 2025 at 1:24 PM
Drones are now pervasive in💥warfare &🎆lightshows, but what about🌾agriculture? In just the last 5 years, millions of farmers—mostly in Asia—have started using drones for farming.
New Science commentary discusses the rapid early rise and possible implications of drone farming: (links below)
New Science commentary discusses the rapid early rise and possible implications of drone farming: (links below)
September 11, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Reposted by James Allen IV
📢TMRW @ 10:00 AM EDT
📌 The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs: Generating evidence on return on investment
💬 Speakers include IFPRI’s Aulo Gelli and Harold Alderman and GCNF’s Arlene Mitchell
🎫 Register to attend 👉 bit.ly/SchoolMeals-
@gcnf.org @cgiar.org
📌 The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs: Generating evidence on return on investment
💬 Speakers include IFPRI’s Aulo Gelli and Harold Alderman and GCNF’s Arlene Mitchell
🎫 Register to attend 👉 bit.ly/SchoolMeals-
@gcnf.org @cgiar.org
September 10, 2025 at 3:58 PM
📢TMRW @ 10:00 AM EDT
📌 The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs: Generating evidence on return on investment
💬 Speakers include IFPRI’s Aulo Gelli and Harold Alderman and GCNF’s Arlene Mitchell
🎫 Register to attend 👉 bit.ly/SchoolMeals-
@gcnf.org @cgiar.org
📌 The Economy-wide Impacts of School Meal Programs: Generating evidence on return on investment
💬 Speakers include IFPRI’s Aulo Gelli and Harold Alderman and GCNF’s Arlene Mitchell
🎫 Register to attend 👉 bit.ly/SchoolMeals-
@gcnf.org @cgiar.org
"What is the most important metric to judge whether a cash transfer program is successful?" 🆕 paper asks high-level policymakers to rank 7 outcomes and their answer: food security!
And... 87% (accurately) believe that CTs increase #foodsecurity.
Paper: lnkd.in/emVXx72i
And... 87% (accurately) believe that CTs increase #foodsecurity.
Paper: lnkd.in/emVXx72i
September 10, 2025 at 3:41 PM
"What is the most important metric to judge whether a cash transfer program is successful?" 🆕 paper asks high-level policymakers to rank 7 outcomes and their answer: food security!
And... 87% (accurately) believe that CTs increase #foodsecurity.
Paper: lnkd.in/emVXx72i
And... 87% (accurately) believe that CTs increase #foodsecurity.
Paper: lnkd.in/emVXx72i
🩸🎗️ New long-lasting #HIV prevention (#PrEP) is coming to #Mozambique! Yay! But what will be the barriers to adherence?
😬My 2023 JDE article w/ @deanyang.bsky.social & others identifies two for HIV testing: #misinformation and #stigma: doi.org/10.1016/j.jd...
www.atnews.co.za/mozambique-t...
😬My 2023 JDE article w/ @deanyang.bsky.social & others identifies two for HIV testing: #misinformation and #stigma: doi.org/10.1016/j.jd...
www.atnews.co.za/mozambique-t...
Mozambique to Introduce HIV Prevention Injection Lenacapavir in 2026 - African Times
Mozambique is preparing to introduce Lenacapavir, a long-acting injectable medication for the prevention of HIV infection, starting in January 2026. Health
www.atnews.co.za
September 9, 2025 at 6:42 PM
🩸🎗️ New long-lasting #HIV prevention (#PrEP) is coming to #Mozambique! Yay! But what will be the barriers to adherence?
😬My 2023 JDE article w/ @deanyang.bsky.social & others identifies two for HIV testing: #misinformation and #stigma: doi.org/10.1016/j.jd...
www.atnews.co.za/mozambique-t...
😬My 2023 JDE article w/ @deanyang.bsky.social & others identifies two for HIV testing: #misinformation and #stigma: doi.org/10.1016/j.jd...
www.atnews.co.za/mozambique-t...
Today's @ifpri.org Applied Micro & Development speaker is Douglas Gollin (Tufts University)!
w/ @jwolfersberger.bsky.social studies impact of new roads on #deforestation in #Brazil via spatial GE model. Falling transport costs since 1995 --> 7% of total forest loss
Great seminar!
w/ @jwolfersberger.bsky.social studies impact of new roads on #deforestation in #Brazil via spatial GE model. Falling transport costs since 1995 --> 7% of total forest loss
Great seminar!
September 4, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Today's @ifpri.org Applied Micro & Development speaker is Douglas Gollin (Tufts University)!
w/ @jwolfersberger.bsky.social studies impact of new roads on #deforestation in #Brazil via spatial GE model. Falling transport costs since 1995 --> 7% of total forest loss
Great seminar!
w/ @jwolfersberger.bsky.social studies impact of new roads on #deforestation in #Brazil via spatial GE model. Falling transport costs since 1995 --> 7% of total forest loss
Great seminar!
Does #inequality affect what poor households consider "necessities"? Yes, a 🆕 study finds, with implications for understanding the decline in caloric consumption over time in #India.
Very insightful!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeea...
Authors: @clement-s-bellet.bsky.social @eve-colsonsihra.bsky.social
Very insightful!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeea...
Authors: @clement-s-bellet.bsky.social @eve-colsonsihra.bsky.social
Does Inequality Affect the Needs of the Poor?
Abstract. We investigate how inequality affects what is considered most necessary to purchase. Combining detailed consumption surveys in India with an inst
doi.org
September 3, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Does #inequality affect what poor households consider "necessities"? Yes, a 🆕 study finds, with implications for understanding the decline in caloric consumption over time in #India.
Very insightful!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeea...
Authors: @clement-s-bellet.bsky.social @eve-colsonsihra.bsky.social
Very insightful!
Paper: doi.org/10.1093/jeea...
Authors: @clement-s-bellet.bsky.social @eve-colsonsihra.bsky.social
Sad news that @poverty-action.bsky.social is closing its #Mali office after 15 years but admirable that they remained long after others left.
As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, I say to the IPA Mali staff: I ni baara! Ala ka baara numan soro i fe!
poverty-action.org/mali-office-...
As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, I say to the IPA Mali staff: I ni baara! Ala ka baara numan soro i fe!
poverty-action.org/mali-office-...
IPA Mali Office: A Legacy of Innovation and Impact
While closing our Mali country office, IPA carries forward innovations and lessons from more than 15 years of influential research in agriculture and other sectors.
poverty-action.org
September 2, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Sad news that @poverty-action.bsky.social is closing its #Mali office after 15 years but admirable that they remained long after others left.
As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, I say to the IPA Mali staff: I ni baara! Ala ka baara numan soro i fe!
poverty-action.org/mali-office-...
As a former Peace Corps Volunteer in Mali, I say to the IPA Mali staff: I ni baara! Ala ka baara numan soro i fe!
poverty-action.org/mali-office-...
Colombian pink dolphins 🐬 and Malawian hippos 🦛 are other likely casualties of USAID's dismantling. That, and locals' trust that ecotourism might drive economic growth better than poaching, deforestation or conflict.
Good article in @cntraveler.com.web.brid.gy: www.cntraveler.com/story/withou...
Good article in @cntraveler.com.web.brid.gy: www.cntraveler.com/story/withou...
Without USAID, Conservation and Tourism Projects Have Ground to a Halt
From the Colombian Amazon to Malawi's Kusango National Park, grants from the US government have been ended leaving local development projects in the lurch.
www.cntraveler.com
August 29, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Colombian pink dolphins 🐬 and Malawian hippos 🦛 are other likely casualties of USAID's dismantling. That, and locals' trust that ecotourism might drive economic growth better than poaching, deforestation or conflict.
Good article in @cntraveler.com.web.brid.gy: www.cntraveler.com/story/withou...
Good article in @cntraveler.com.web.brid.gy: www.cntraveler.com/story/withou...
Reposted by James Allen IV
IFPRI’s @jo-swinnen.bsky.social and @pmenon1.bsky.social
were featured this new episode of VoxDevTalks, where they discuss the landmark 2025 Global Food Policy Report, which reviews 50 years of progress and setbacks in global food systems.
🎧 voxdev.org/topic/health...
@voxdev.bsky.social
were featured this new episode of VoxDevTalks, where they discuss the landmark 2025 Global Food Policy Report, which reviews 50 years of progress and setbacks in global food systems.
🎧 voxdev.org/topic/health...
@voxdev.bsky.social
Food policy: Lessons and priorities for a changing world
What can 50 years of policy research tell us about the future of food (in)security?
voxdev.org
August 28, 2025 at 8:48 PM
IFPRI’s @jo-swinnen.bsky.social and @pmenon1.bsky.social
were featured this new episode of VoxDevTalks, where they discuss the landmark 2025 Global Food Policy Report, which reviews 50 years of progress and setbacks in global food systems.
🎧 voxdev.org/topic/health...
@voxdev.bsky.social
were featured this new episode of VoxDevTalks, where they discuss the landmark 2025 Global Food Policy Report, which reviews 50 years of progress and setbacks in global food systems.
🎧 voxdev.org/topic/health...
@voxdev.bsky.social
⭕ "Development economics is economics that takes place developing countries."
First definition that I was taught and, IMO, the de facto definition in economics.
I love it for its inclusivity within the field but hate it for how it excludes from other fields.
Others agree?
First definition that I was taught and, IMO, the de facto definition in economics.
I love it for its inclusivity within the field but hate it for how it excludes from other fields.
Others agree?
What is development economics?
I find it more and more difficult to define what development economics actually is.
So, for this @voxdev.bsky.social blog, I asked development economists how they define development economics: voxdev.org/topic/what-d...
I find it more and more difficult to define what development economics actually is.
So, for this @voxdev.bsky.social blog, I asked development economists how they define development economics: voxdev.org/topic/what-d...
What is development economics?
I asked development economists for their definitions of development economics.
voxdev.org
August 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
⭕ "Development economics is economics that takes place developing countries."
First definition that I was taught and, IMO, the de facto definition in economics.
I love it for its inclusivity within the field but hate it for how it excludes from other fields.
Others agree?
First definition that I was taught and, IMO, the de facto definition in economics.
I love it for its inclusivity within the field but hate it for how it excludes from other fields.
Others agree?
🎶 To go with the first day of fall classes, what song(s) got (or are getting) you through grad school?
Mine was "Keep Moving" by Jungle: open.spotify.com/track/4rf0IV....
Just keep moving. And if you keep moving long enough, you get your PhD, and then get to keep moving some more. 🫠
Mine was "Keep Moving" by Jungle: open.spotify.com/track/4rf0IV....
Just keep moving. And if you keep moving long enough, you get your PhD, and then get to keep moving some more. 🫠
Keep Moving
open.spotify.com
August 25, 2025 at 3:56 PM
🎶 To go with the first day of fall classes, what song(s) got (or are getting) you through grad school?
Mine was "Keep Moving" by Jungle: open.spotify.com/track/4rf0IV....
Just keep moving. And if you keep moving long enough, you get your PhD, and then get to keep moving some more. 🫠
Mine was "Keep Moving" by Jungle: open.spotify.com/track/4rf0IV....
Just keep moving. And if you keep moving long enough, you get your PhD, and then get to keep moving some more. 🫠
🆕 paper gives hopeful evidence that rebuilding agricultural infrastructure can restore farming in post-conflict settings, evaluating large-scale #irrigation rehabilitation in #Afghanistan 2010-2016.
Paper in EDCC: doi.org/10.1086/733269
Striking parallels to #Gaza...
Paper in EDCC: doi.org/10.1086/733269
Striking parallels to #Gaza...
August 21, 2025 at 2:20 PM
🆕 paper gives hopeful evidence that rebuilding agricultural infrastructure can restore farming in post-conflict settings, evaluating large-scale #irrigation rehabilitation in #Afghanistan 2010-2016.
Paper in EDCC: doi.org/10.1086/733269
Striking parallels to #Gaza...
Paper in EDCC: doi.org/10.1086/733269
Striking parallels to #Gaza...
📣 Attn PhD students: 🆓 virtual PhD-level non-credit course on #socialprotection!
I did the 2022 course & found it very beneficial. Instructors are experts & many are editors at top economic journals. So their perspective is informative & helpful for generating research ideas.
Highly recommend!
I did the 2022 course & found it very beneficial. Instructors are experts & many are editors at top economic journals. So their perspective is informative & helpful for generating research ideas.
Highly recommend!
A chance to learn from some of the world’s leading development economists? Yes please! 🎓
Join Rema Nadeem, Benjamin Olken, and other top JPAL researchers for the free BREAD-IGC virtual PhD course on social protection.
Apply now: www.theigc.org/events/bread...
Join Rema Nadeem, Benjamin Olken, and other top JPAL researchers for the free BREAD-IGC virtual PhD course on social protection.
Apply now: www.theigc.org/events/bread...
August 19, 2025 at 8:35 PM
📣 Attn PhD students: 🆓 virtual PhD-level non-credit course on #socialprotection!
I did the 2022 course & found it very beneficial. Instructors are experts & many are editors at top economic journals. So their perspective is informative & helpful for generating research ideas.
Highly recommend!
I did the 2022 course & found it very beneficial. Instructors are experts & many are editors at top economic journals. So their perspective is informative & helpful for generating research ideas.
Highly recommend!
Reposted by James Allen IV
🚨New on our blog:
#Gaza's catastrophe will have long-lasting impacts on lives and livelihoods.
@cgiar.org
www.ifpri.org/blog/gazas-c...
#Gaza's catastrophe will have long-lasting impacts on lives and livelihoods.
@cgiar.org
www.ifpri.org/blog/gazas-c...
Gaza's catastrophe will have long-lasting impacts on lives and livelihoods
A looming famine and ruined livelihoods.
www.ifpri.org
August 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
🚨New on our blog:
#Gaza's catastrophe will have long-lasting impacts on lives and livelihoods.
@cgiar.org
www.ifpri.org/blog/gazas-c...
#Gaza's catastrophe will have long-lasting impacts on lives and livelihoods.
@cgiar.org
www.ifpri.org/blog/gazas-c...
How do get the world (e.g., my children) to eat more fruits 🍎 and vegetables 🥦 (F&V)?
A 🆕 scoping review of 223 studies published between 2012-2022: doi.org/10.1177/0379...
My takeaway: More evidence is needed on #socialprotection impact on F&V consumption in LMICs!
A 🆕 scoping review of 223 studies published between 2012-2022: doi.org/10.1177/0379...
My takeaway: More evidence is needed on #socialprotection impact on F&V consumption in LMICs!
August 7, 2025 at 7:00 PM
How do get the world (e.g., my children) to eat more fruits 🍎 and vegetables 🥦 (F&V)?
A 🆕 scoping review of 223 studies published between 2012-2022: doi.org/10.1177/0379...
My takeaway: More evidence is needed on #socialprotection impact on F&V consumption in LMICs!
A 🆕 scoping review of 223 studies published between 2012-2022: doi.org/10.1177/0379...
My takeaway: More evidence is needed on #socialprotection impact on F&V consumption in LMICs!
Writing grant proposals all month like...
a man is covering his mouth in front of a screen that says big money no whammys
ALT: a man is covering his mouth in front of a screen that says big money no whammys
media.tenor.com
July 31, 2025 at 3:57 PM
Writing grant proposals all month like...