We've been lucky to have Elisa Macchi from Brown University visiting the @princetondevo.bsky.social group this academic year. Read about Elisa's approach to research, including starting with very simple questions and seeing what emerges.

A conversation with RPDE Visiting Faculty Elisa Macchi

During the 2025-2026 academic year, RPDE is hosting a new set of visiting scholars, bringing a wide range of interests and expertise into the halls of JRR, Princeton’s economics building. We’ll be tal...

rpde.princeton.edu

New research from @princetondevo.bsky.social affiliate Seema Jayachandran

NBER@nber.org · 6mo ago

Parents' life satisfaction after having a son versus a daughter sheds light on gender preferences, showing that in matrilineal parts of Malawi, mothers prefer daughters, from Anna Barbeta-Margarit, @seema.bsky.social, and Suanna Oh www.nber.org/papers/w34830

Read about Abdou Cisse's path to economics and what he thinks makes a great econ paper. (We're lucky to have Abdou visiting @princetondevo.bsky.social this year.)

Princeton Research Program in Development Economics@princetondevo.bsky.social · 6mo ago

rpde.princeton.edu/news/2026/co...

Check out our most recent conversation with Abdou Cisse, a Postdoc with us this year whose research focuses on energy markets in sub-Saharan Africa. It was a great conversation. Link below

Forthcoming in the JEL: "Women's Power in the Household" by Seema Jayachandran and Alessandra Voena. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...

Women's Power in the Household

(Forthcoming Article) - We examine women’s household power in low- and middle-income countries, synthesizing theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence on its measurement, determinants, and consequ...

aeaweb.org

The Weiss Fund has a great new initiative for development economists on the PhD job market to support those taking up research positions in LMICs, offering supplementary income + research funds. Please share!

Reviewing how much power do women have in their households in developing countries and why household power matters, from @seema.bsky.social and Alessandra Voena www.nber.org/papers/w34605

New @princetondevo.bsky.social research

Seema Jayachandran@seema.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New NBER working paper with Alessandra Voena on women's power in the household in LMICs. I'd never found a review article on this topic that met my needs as a PhD class reading, so we sought to fill this gap. NBER : www.nber.org/papers/w34605 Ungated: seemajayachandran.com/womens_power_JEL.pdf

Nonprofits celebrate big grants, but @seema.bsky.social asks: how much new good did this funding create, & how much simply shifted between capable orgs?🤔 Her new blog shows how this type of counterfactual thinking can strengthen impact across the sector: https://go.cgdev.org/4oSvqXn

The Case for Counterfactual Thinking in Nonprofit Fundraising

When a nonprofit wins a major government contract or foundation grant, it’s cause for celebration. These wins reflect hard work and organizational strength. Yet beneath the success lies a subtle, ofte...

cgdev.org

Our affiliate, Seema Jayachandran, argues in this blog post that, when fundraising, nonprofits shouldn't just care about how much they raise. They should value new funds they attract to the cause more than competitive grants they win that would have otherwise gone to an equally capable peer.

Seema Jayachandran@seema.bsky.social · 8mo ago

I argue in this piece that the nonprofit sector should be thinking more about the counterfactual when assessing fundraising success: winning a $2M competitive bid over capable peers advances the cause less than convincing someone to donate $1M they'd have spent on a yacht.

Professor Seema Jayachandran (@seema_econ) recently joined the Vox Dev Economics podcast with co-author Alessandra Voena to discuss their new new review paper, "Women’s Power in the Household." Listen: https://bit.ly/448YAdt

Women’s power at home

What has economic research taught us about women’s power in the household?

bit.ly

Resharing this VoxDev piece on women’s power in the household. A great synthesis of how economists measure agency, what shapes bargaining power, and why legal rights and norms matter. Worth a read!

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 8mo ago

🆕 Women’s power at home In today's podcast, @seema.bsky.social @princetondevo.bsky.social & Alessandra Voena discuss what economic research has taught us about women’s power in the household: voxdev.org/topic/instit...

And in related news: Pascaline Dupas was named to this year’s Future Perfect 25 for her leadership in evidence-based development! She's one of 6 'big thinkers reshaping foreign aid, masculinity, and development'. Link below to Vox...

New RPDE Faculty Snapshot: Pascaline Dupas shared insights on evidence-based development with African ambassadors in DC, drawing on her broader recent work in Benin and Guinea and across the regions. Details at the link below 👇

Check out our conversation with Nina Buchmann, visiting RPDE this year before she joins the economics faculty at UC Berkeley. We discuss her work at the intersection of gender and labor markets — and her reflections on where the field is heading. Link in the replies 👇👇

We’re HIRING! Great environment for early-career researchers in development economics. Read more by clicking on the post!

Princeton Research Program in Development Economics@princetondevo.bsky.social · 10mo ago

📢 RPDE at Princeton is hiring two Postdoctoral Research Associates for 2026–27. Details below: 👉 One-year term, no teaching load, active research + seminar community. 👉 PhD completion: Sept 2024–Aug 2026. 🔗 Apply via AEA JOE: www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing.... #Postdoc #EconJobMarket #DevEcon

📢 RPDE at Princeton is hiring two Postdoctoral Research Associates for 2026–27. Details below: 👉 One-year term, no teaching load, active research + seminar community. 👉 PhD completion: Sept 2024–Aug 2026. 🔗 Apply via AEA JOE: www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing.... #Postdoc #EconJobMarket #DevEcon

New research by @princetondevo.bsky.social visitor, Abdou Cisse

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🆕 Why irrigation infrastructure projects are key to food security and climate resilience in sub-Saharan Africa Abdoulaye Cisse, Alain de Janvry @natureatcal.bsky.social, @joelferguson.bsky.social, @marcogn.bsky.social, Samba Mbaye, Elisabeth Sadoulet & Mame Mor: voxdev.org/topic/agricu...

Check out this summary of research by Princeton faculty Pascaline Dupas and @seema.bsky.social and coauthors on encouraging verbal engagement with infants in Ghana. Showing new moms a 3-minute video was a cost-effective approach to boost engagement.

VoxDev@voxdev.bsky.social · 10mo ago

🆕 A three minute prompt to talk: Boosting parent-infant verbal engagement at low cost Today on VoxDev, Pascaline Dupas (Princeton Economics), Camille Falézan (MIT), Seema Jayachandran (Princeton Economics) & Mark Walsh (GiveWell) outline research on Ghana: https://ow.ly/LGYU50XfpQf

For econ JM candidates: @princetondevo.bsky.social is hiring for a 1-year postdoc with a start date in summer 2026. The only responsibility is to be an active participant in our Princeton development econ seminars and to continue pursuing your great independent research. Apply by Nov 24.

🚨🚨 Pre-doc Hiring! 🚨🚨 We are hiring pre-docs to start in Princeton in Summer 2026, supporting Pascaline Dupas, @thomasfujiwara.bsky.social @seema.bsky.social and Mica Sviatschi. This is a great opportunity to gain experience in development economics research before applying to PhD programs. Link 👇

We sat down with Jessica Goldberg (RPDE Spring '25 visiting faculty from UMD) this summer to pick her brain. Learn about the surprising journey that brought her back to Princeton 20 years after finishing her MPA. 👇 Link below in comments 👇

Check out our conversation with Miguel Ortiz, who visited us this year as a Postdoc after his PhD at UC Berkeley, starting at @ubcvse.bsky.social this fall. Learn about the economics of conflict & how an dissertation involved producing a 24 episode radio drama. Link in comments

🚨 FIELD JOB OPENING ALERT 🚨: @JohriTejal61310 is hiring a Senior Field Research Associate for a 3-month contract based in Uganda. See LinkedIn post linked below for more details and to apply!

Check out our conversation with Eric Verhoogen @ericverhoogen.bsky.social, who visited us this past year. Hear about his path from union organizer to development economist, how to optimally tile pentagons when making soccer balls, and more rpde.princeton.edu/news/2025/co...

A conversation with RPDE Visiting Professor Eric Verhoogen: from teacher and union organizer to studying soccer ball manufacturing

Summer has meant a lot of changes here at RPDE. As with everyone at Princeton, it has meant bracing for summer heat and saying goodbye to graduating students and those leaving for summer. At RPDE in p...

rpde.princeton.edu

I have a new review article w/ Alessandra Voena on women's power in the household in LMICs (just submitted to JEL). I've written ~6 review articles, and I think this is the best one. We make some useful conceptual points IMO. But you decide! Comments welcome! seemajayachandran.com/womens_power...

Work with me and my star coauthors (Patrick Agte & Pascaline Dupas) on AI & health! We're recruiting a full-time, Hindi-speaking field research associate to work on our project in Rajasthan. Please share and apply. jpalsouth.asia/jobsPage?ID=... #econtwitter #econsky #econra

If interested, details are below on how to participate in tomorrow's World Bank webinar on "Women's Voices and Choices" with RPDE faculty member @seema.bsky.social and others.

Clara Delavallade@claradelav.bsky.social · last yr.

Honored to moderate this discussion on women’s agency and the power of group models. Join us tomorrow to learn more about what shapes women’s decision-making, how groups improve outcomes for women and girls, and why these insights should influence measurement, programming, and future research.

And a large thank you to Prof. Karthik Muralidharan for giving an insightful talk on his new book, "Accelerating India's Development" last week leading into the BREAD Conference, @karthik-econ.bsky.social

Thanks for all those who attended and presented at the BREAD Conference hosted by RPDE here in Princeton last week! It was a joy to welcome over 100 development economists to discuss their emerging work over the weekend.