Economics blogs
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Internal and international influences on urban change
27 May 2020David Satterthwaite takes a closer look at drivers and influences of urban change
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Using technology to overcome challenges for farmers in value chains
27 May 2020Value chains are structured in ways that are unfavourable to smallholder farmers who often struggle to access finance, inputs and markets. An IIED webinar discussed how smallholders in East Africa can use technology to overcome those challenges and negotiate with buyers and input and finance providers from a position of strength
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Business with purpose in the era of COVID-19
18 May 2020The coronavirus pandemic has delivered a profound shock to the world economy. IIED's Laura Kelly argues that businesses must commit to more responsible and inclusive practices as part of their efforts to build recovery
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Will COVID-19 leave fuel-rich African countries gasping for breath?
27 April 2020As coronavirus takes its toll on Africa’s oil and gas-reliant economies, Dr Fatima Denton asks if recovery could herald an era of bold new thinking on economic diversification to reduce reliance on natural resources
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COVID-19 and global economic ordering: radical shift or more of the same?
24 April 2020The fallout from COVID-19 has triggered narratives about profound changes to economic ordering. A closer look provides a more complex picture, particularly for countries in the global South.
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Coronavirus and climate change are two crises that need humanity to unite
13 March 2020IIED director Andrew Norton looks at some of the emerging impacts of the coronavirus outbreak, and discusses the possible longer-term effects of the pandemic
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Making the market work for nature while helping to tackle poverty
3 March 2020Marking World Wildlife Day today (3 March), IIED is proposing a new system that would help protect biodiversity and also reduce poverty, bringing conservation and development together
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2020: the year to get money where it matters
20 January 2020More new initiatives, such as the Global Commission on Adaptation’s Locally Led Adaptation Action Track, are beginning to recognise the critical role of poor and marginalised people in tackling the climate emergency. From the Gobeshona conference, Andrew Norton and Saleemul Huq explain why a reimagined climate finance system that gets money into the hands of those people must be high on the 2020 ‘super year’ agenda
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When investors go green
18 November 2019Pernille Holtedahl unpacks the growing appetite for green bonds and suggests this is a movement driven by the broader public – not just business
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The Nobel and poverty alleviation: "A slow deliberative process of discovery – no miracle cure"
23 October 2019Esther Duflo, Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer have won the Nobel Prize in Economics, for their on-the-ground experiments on how best to alleviate poverty. IIED communications director Liz Carlile welcomes this recognition of the role played by research in changing development economics
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Business as usual – or business with purpose?
17 April 2019As we launch our new strategy, Laura Kelly, director of IIED’s Shaping Sustainable Markets research group, considers how the private sector can respond to development and environmental challenges – and how IIED can support business to deliver positive change
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Covering elephant tracks: can insurance compensate farmers for wildlife damage?
27 March 2019A new IIED-led project in Kenya and Sri Lanka is exploring whether insurance schemes can compensate women and men small-scale farmers for crop and property damage caused by human-wildlife conflict, primarily from elephants
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Focusing the blue economy future on small-scale fisheries
18 February 2019At the heart of IIED’s fisheries economics and ocean programme are small-scale fisheries and the people linked to those fisheries. Together, they play a large part in the future health and sustainability of the blue economy
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Environment or the economy? How Uganda uses natural capital accounts in policymaking
9 January 2019When half of a country’s wealth is natural capital it is vital this resource is managed well. If people, businesses and government policies put natural capital at risk, then long term sustainable development is jeopardised. A recent meeting in Kampala, Uganda, discussed how natural capital accounts can inform better decision making for a viable future
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Who should carry the financial risks in large private sector financed hydropower projects?
17 December 2018New research will examine the risks of funding hydropower and how these risks can be addressed to break down the financing barriers
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Investor-state arbitration: an opportunity for real reform?
7 December 2018An ongoing multilateral process could provide a unique opportunity to reform a contentious area of global economic governance – but only if it properly identifies the key problems
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The future of work, technological change and global inequality
2 November 2018Technical and digital innovation are transforming the nature of work, employment patterns and international trade. IIED director Andrew Norton looks at how technological change brings both threats and opportunities – and how developing countries can take action to ensure their citizens have the skills they need
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African cities can raise more money. Kenya and South Africa offer useful lessons
31 October 2018Africa's cities are expanding at an unprecedented rate. Sarah Colenbrander and Ian Palmer highlight research that shows how Africa's national governments can support cities and unlock vital investment.
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What is 'aggregation' and how can it get climate finance working for the most vulnerable?
19 June 2018Climate finance is not being invested at the volume and scale needed to enable vulnerable communities across the world to respond effectively to the impacts of climate change. Sam Greene discusses some of the innovations that are 'aggregating' finance, recipients or information together to help money to flow to where it matters
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Public-private partnerships and aid's 'private turn': addressing the investment law dimensions
30 January 2018Public-private partnerships are emerging as important vehicles for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Their legal and financial implications must be carefully considered
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Financing sustainable infrastructure: a tale of two cities
9 January 2018How can cities in poor countries raise funds for major infrastructure projects? Sarah Colenbrander and Denise Chan look at two success stories and suggest how local governments can build their financial skills and credibility with investors
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China's outward public investment – good news for the environment and tackling poverty?
24 October 2017It's been a busy six months for China's outward public investment. Paul Steele, IIED's chief economist, reviews what's been happening and whether it's good news for the environment and development
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Are impact investors missing a trick by overlooking local communities?
7 September 2017Guest blogger Katharina Neureiter explores whether impact investors are missing a trick by not engaging with community groups
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BRICS summit: an opportunity to lead a fairer more sustainable world
3 September 2017Ahead of this week's BRICS summit, IIED's chief economist identifies two key ways the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa can fill the growing global political vacuum and promote sustainability
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Financial inequalities; defining our age
22 August 2017A decade on from the global financial crisis, can the world's banks and financial institutions learn about value and values from grassroots savings schemes that help the world's lowest-income people?