In a new #CEGAWorkingPaper, CEGA faculty affiliate Isabelle Cohen and colleagues showcase how interventions targeting women’s communication skills and external circumstances can meaningfully impact intra-household decisions. Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS267

How can algorithmic predictions be used to inform how organizations allocate scarce resources? In a new #CEGAWorkingPaper, CEGA Staff Scientist Nitin Kohli and Ben Jacobsen explore how aid interventions must balance the need for privacy and effective targeting. Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS266

🤖 What’s next for Agentic AI? Mansi Kalra and Jennie Zheng joined researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers & AI leaders at @ucberkeleyofficial.bsky.social’s Agentic AI Summit to explore how we can build AI that is safe, secure & beneficial to society. 🔗 Learn more: rdi.berkeley.edu/events/agent...

Agentic AI Summit 2026

Join us August 1–2, 2026 on the UC Berkeley campus for the largest summit dedicated to Agentic AI — 5,000+ attendees, world-class speakers, and a global livestream.

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📅Save the Date! CEGA is excited to host the 2027 Pacific Conference for Development Economics (PacDev) on March 13, 2027 at the University of British Columbia. Stay tuned for a call for papers in fall 2026! 🔗Learn more about PacDev here: go.cega.org/pacdev-27

Pacific Conference for Development Economics (PacDev) 2027

About the Conference The Pacific Conference for Development Economics (PacDev) is the West Coast's largest annual conference on development. The event brings together researchers and...

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📊How can predicting results improve social science research? A new @voxdev.bsky.social article shares findings from @ucbitss.bsky.social's Social Science Prediction Platform and highlights how predictions can improve study design. 🔗Learn more: go.cega.org/VoxDev-SSPP

Can forecasting social science make experiments better?

Evidence from 100 Social Science Prediction Platform projects shows that research forecasts are too optimistic on average, but still predictive enough to improve study design when they are combined, s...

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Are we able to stop a war before it starts? CEGA’s new Peace Per Dollar initiative is working to build the standards and tools to identify cost-effective ways to prevent and mitigate war. 📖Learn more in a new article by Asterisk Magazine: go.cega.org/asterisk-PPD

Engineering Peace

The development community treats war as inevitable. We’re learning how to pay to prevent it.

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Last week, CEGA’s Africa Evidence Summit explored innovative research advancing development policy in Africa. A new article from the Ethiopian News Agency shares highlights from the Summit, including insights from leaders in government and research. Read here: go.cega.org/ENA-AES26

Africa Policymakers Require Evidence-Based Choices to Make Decisions: Minister

Addis Ababa, July 23, 2026 (ENA) —Addressing Africa's challenges require policymakers to make informed choices on where to invest limited resources and which programs deliver effective results based o...

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Is ending extreme poverty financially possible? CEGA research shows it may be within reach. A new video from Berkeley News highlights CEGA Faculty Co-Director Josh Blumenstock’s work to alleviate poverty by leveraging machine learning and AI. 📽️ Watch here: go.cega.org/EOP-calnews

Watch: Ending extreme global poverty is within reach — and we know the price tag - Berkeley News

UC Berkeley Professor Joshua Blumenstock uses machine learning and AI to solve the world's biggest global development challenges.

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💡 Why don’t African policymakers use evidence in decision-making? During yesterday’s Policy Studies Institute Panel, Ethiopian researchers and policy-makers discussed the challenges and opportunities of integrating rigorous social science research and evidence into decision-making processes.

🌍At #AES2026, panelists explored how AI can improve healthcare, bridge research and policymaking, and help governments anticipate climate challenges. As moderator Daniel Getachew Kabtyimer put it, "AI is a force multiplier rather than a force divider."

🌍 How can research have greater policy impact? In today's #AES2026 keynote, Abebe Shimeles discussed strengthening the link between research and policy by investing in research skills, engaging policymakers throughout the research process, and fostering long-term collaboration through mentorship.

🌍The 2026 Africa Evidence Summit is underway in Addis Ababa! Researchers, policymakers, and development practitioners from across Africa and around the world have gathered to explore this year’s theme: "Powering Policy with Innovative, Inclusive, Transparent Data." #AES2026

Why might entrepreneurs choose not to maximize their profits? A new #CEGAWorkingPaper by faculty affiliate Matt Lowe & colleagues explores what happens when vegetable vendors in India are given the chance to increase profits with little risk. Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS-265

Do Microenterprises Maximize Profits? A Nonrandomized Vegetable-Market Experiment in India

Author(s): Banerjee, Abhijit; Fischer, Greg; Karlan, Dean; Lowe, Matt; Roth, Benjamin N. | Abstract: We ran a nonrandomized, market-level experiment in Kolkata vegetable markets in which we subsidized...

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📣 One week until the 2026 Africa Evidence Summit! The Africa Evidence Summit, hosted by CEGA in partnership with @NIERA_EA and @fdrepsi, will gather leaders from across the globe to explore innovative research shaping the future of development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

How can we use cost evidence to help more people? CEGA & @careglobal.bsky.social recently hosted a training series on economic evaluation methods, with a focus on costing and cost-effectiveness analysis. Learn more about CEGA’s cost-effectiveness work: go.cega.org/CTI

Cost-Effectiveness Lab

The Cost-Effectiveness Lab improves and scales the use of high-quality cost evidence in impact evaluation and for decision-making.

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How can we strengthen scientific capacity in low- and middle-income countries? A new blog from @notanastronomer highlights key takeaways from the 2026 Science in Development Workshop featuring CEGA Director of Policy & Inclusion @mayaranganath.bsky.social. 📖: go.cega.org/LP-S4D

Science for Development: what comes next?

Some reflections

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How does knowing someone’s identity shape workplace interactions? In a new #CEGAWorkingPaper, faculty affiliate Matt Lowe, Anujit Chakraborty, Gareth Nellis and colleagues explore how identity concealment affects workplace relationships in India. Learn more: go.cega.org/WPS-264

🌱 How can seed funding expand opportunities for junior researchers? In a new #CEGABlog, recipients of CEGA’s Development Economics Challenge grants share how CEGA support helped shape their research & advance their careers. 📖 Learn more: go.cega.org/DEC-blog

Influencing Careers with Catalytic Funding: Development Economics Challenge

Samarth Bordia, Finance and Reporting Manager and the Program Manager for CEGA's Catalytic Research Portfolio, speaks with recent UC Berkeley graduate students about how early-stage funding from...

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How useful is mobile phone data for measuring poverty? A new @WorldBankGroup blog features research by CEGA Faculty Co-Director Josh Blumenstock & faculty affiliate Emily Aiken exploring the potential and limitations of mobile phone data. 📖 Learn more: go.cega.org/WB-MPDblog

Mobile phone data for poverty targeting: what we learned from four countries

Evidence from Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, and Togo shows how mobile phone data can help identify poverty and vulnerability, offering new opportunities for social protection and targeting in da...

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💡 How can research adapt to changing contexts? In a new #CEGABlog, Research Manager Mansi Kalra shares insights on how CEGA’s Syrian and Refugee Life Study navigated data collection in a conflict-impacted region. 📖 Learn more: go.cega.org/SRLS-blog

💡 What limits refugee self-reliance in Uganda? A new research paper from Spring 2025 CEGA Fellow Susan Awor and faculty affiliate Sandra Rozo explores the factors that shape refugee resettlement patterns in Uganda, Africa’s largest refugee-hosting nation. Learn more: go.cega.org/uganda-refugee

📽️ Are you a UC Berkeley student or recent graduate with video production experience? CEGA is looking for a video production intern based in Berkeley, CA to develop a short, public-facing video for CEGA’s Parvaaz initiative. 🔗 Learn more and apply here: go.cega.org/VP-intern

CEGA is excited to welcome @ahobbservation to the CEGA community as a new faculty affiliate!

How can African universities develop the pipeline of scholars & research in development economics? As part of the Collaboration for Inclusive Development Research (CIDR), 2013 CEGA Fellow Annet Adong & faculty affiliate Daniel Posner examined barriers faced by African scholars.

🌍 Announcing IDEA — the International Development Economics Association CEGA is proud to support @ideadevecon.bsky.social, the first global professional association of development economists, open to all, with a particular focus on scholars in low- and middle-income countries.

What challenges and opportunities does AI present for open science? In a new #CEGABlog, @ucbitss.bsky.social Program Manager Jo Weech explores the intersection of AI, research reproducibility, and data quality. 📖 Learn more: go.cega.org/AI-blog

Research-grade AI: Move Fast, Break Science

What can we learn from open science as we bring AI tools into academic research? BITSS Program Manager Jo Weech shares concerns and opportunities discussed at two research transparency conferences...

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💡 Are you an economist with experience with RCTs? Researchers from CEGA & the University of Oregon are conducting a research project exploring the process of returning RCT results to participants. 🔗 Learn more and participate in a short survey here: go.cega.org/RCT-survey

CEGA and @nieraglobal.bsky.social recently released findings from a new study generating data on why African scholars are underrepresented in development research, the consequences of this imbalance, and how to meaningfully promote their leadership and participation.

CEGA is excited to welcome Emily Aiken to the CEGA community as a new faculty affiliate! Stay tuned as we welcome our new faculty affiliates to the CEGA network.

💡 How a CEGA partnership is helping advance African-led decision making. After 7 years, Development Impact West Africa has transitioned into the African Centre for Development Impact (ACDI), an independent pan-African think tank. 📖 Learn more in a new #CEGAImpactStory: go.cega.org/acdi-IS

CEGA partnership evolves into the Africa Center for Development Impact

Development Impact West Africa (DIWA) has transitioned into an independent pan-African organization, serving hundreds of new scholars and policymakers

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