It is often argued that returns to R&D are low in developing countries, making imported technologies a better path to growth. Yet technologies designed for frontier nations may not fit local conditions, limiting their productivity gains. This column studies Brazil’s Embrapa, a large public R&D effort to create agricultural innovation suited to Brazil’s ecology. Embrapa shifted research toward local needs and raised agricultural productivity by 110%, far outweighing its costs. Sustained, locally targeted R&D can be a key part of development policy.

Brazil’s R&D subsidy programme spurred long-term growth by helping financially constrained companies adopt foreign technologies and expand into high-tariff markets through import substitution.

In El Salvador, extreme heat lowers agricultural productivity and rural incomes, pushing farmers – especially those with strong migrant networks – to use international migration as a climate adaptation strategy.

In Brazil, anti-corruption audits substantially reduced vote buying and citizens’ demands for private favours – demonstrating how transparency initiatives can weaken clientelism and strengthen democra...

Merit-based recruitment and higher pay in Chile’s public hospitals attracted better-trained managers – leading to lower mortality rates and improved healthcare performance.

I have been (trying) to keep track of the latest AI-related thinking and research that is relevant to low- and middle-income countries. It is hard to know where to look and what to trust, here are the...

I have been (trying) to keep track of the latest AI-related thinking and research that is relevant to low- and middle-income countries. It is hard to know where to look and what to trust, here are the...

When people in developing countries believe their tax systems are fair and progressive, they are more willing to pay taxes.

In India, expanding deposit insurance coverage improved depositor welfare by reducing risk and encouraging a shift towards safer assets.

Short-term foreign currency borrowing is largely used for carry trade-like activities rather than financing productive investment, underscoring the need to focus on debt maturity and firm heterogeneit...

Workers at exporting firms experience more rapid skill and productivity growth, especially when firms export to high-income destinations, thereby amplifying the overall gains from trade.

A national extension programme in Uganda raised farmers’ expectations and adoption of oilseed crops – revealing how beliefs, not just knowledge, drive agricultural transformation.

The 1933 Soviet famine was not the inevitable result of poor harvests but of Stalin’s collectivisation and procurement policies, which disproportionately targeted Ukrainians and produced catastrophic,...

Firms were more likely to enter Angola’s market after the civil war if they employed managers with prior, Angola-specific export experience – highlighting the critical role of managerial human capital in overcoming fixed entry costs in post-conflict economies.

Greenfield investment plays a critical role in Africa’s integration into global value chains, with inward investment in manufacturing boosting forward participation, while outward African investment in services enhances overall participation.

China’s New Rural Pension Scheme unexpectedly lowered the high cost of migration by freeing younger workers from household duties – boosting migration, wages, household welfare, and even national GDP.