Ted Miguel

@tedmiguel.bsky.social

Economics Professor and Director Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), University of California Berkeley (USA) http://emiguel.econ.berkeley.edu

Congrats to BART rider and Oakland legend Alysa Liu on winning a gold medal at the Olympics and making the Bay Area proud!

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“Uruguay did what most nations still call impossible: it built a power grid that runs almost entirely on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. The physicist who led that transformation says the same playbook could work anywhere—if governments have the courage to change the rules.”

Uruguay’s Renewable Charge: A Small Nation, A Big Lesson For The World

Uruguay built a power grid that runs 99% on renewables—at half the cost of fossil fuels. Here’s how its bold energy overhaul became a global model.

forbes.com

Earlier this year, we hosted the 2025 WIDER Development Conference in Helsinki, celebrating #WIDER40! Themes on growth, equity, and innovative solutions, the conference united leading minds to tackle global challenges. Looking forward to 2026 in New Delhi! #2025recap

Laura Saavedra-Lux presenting her research at the 2025 WIDER Development Conference in Helsinki, Finland.Panelists on stage at the 2025 WIDER Development Conference in Helsinki, Finland.Patricia Justino speaking at a fireside chat at the 2025 WIDER Development Conference in Helsinki, Finland.Nobel Laureate Abhijit Banerjee speaking at WIDER Annual Lecture in 2025.

What would it cost to end extreme poverty? "We estimate that reducing the poverty rate to 1% ... would cost $170B nominal per year." "The results correspond to a cost of (approximately) ending extreme poverty of roughly 0.3% of global GDP."

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Pierre-Louis Vezina, Cevat Giray Aksoy, and Piotr Lewandowski show that, far from displacing local businesses, Ukrainian refugees in Poland sparked an entrepreneurial boom as they inspired Polish entrepreneurs and created new supply chain opportunities. cepr.org/voxeu/column... #EconSky

Figure shows the number of firms registered with Ukrainian owners. Data from the National Court Register (KRS) and Central Register and Information on Business Activity (CEIDG).

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, over a million Ukrainian refugees fled to Poland. This column shows that far from displacing local businesses, these refugees sparked an entrepreneurial boom. Ukrainians started nearly 39,000 firms in just two years. In addition, every 10% increase in Ukrainian firm registrations triggered a 2.3% rise in Polish entrepreneurship. Survey data reveal two mechanisms driving this multiplier effect: Ukrainian businesses inspired Polish entrepreneurs to launch similar ventures, and Ukrainian firms created new supply chain opportunities with local partners.