Research
The Growth Lab hosts an interdisciplinary team that iterates between theory and practice of economic development to improve our understanding of how economies grow.
Our trademark methodologies, Economic Complexity and Growth Diagnostics, have revolutionized development thinking and inspired many places to reconsider their economic strategies.
Research Questions We Seek to Answer
- What kinds of processes do countries, regions, and cities use to diversify their productive capacity and accumulate productive knowledge in order to accelerate growth?
- How can migration and mobility help foster economic development and how do complementary skills impact labor market dynamics?
- How can countries prioritize key policy decisions and sequencing to achieve their long-term strategy?
- What is the role of special economic zones in tackling product diversification opportunities and how does it impact knowledge transfer and migration?
Our Research
Academic Research
Our multidisciplinary team is working to uncover the mechanisms behind economic growth. Our active areas of research include Economic Complexity and Growth Diagnostics, Cities, Green Growth, Innovation, Jobs, Skills, and Migration, and Remoteness.
Policy Research
We are developing rigorous place-specific research on the constraints to sustained shared prosperity, translating these insights into inputs for policy design and collaborating with practitioners to learn from the process of implementation.
Research Spotlight
POLICY RESEARCH
WORKING PAPER
Japan’s Innovation Challenge: Escaping the Middle-Technology Trap
BAHAR, D., ET AL., 2026
Japan remains one of the world’s most technologically sophisticated economies, yet its labor productivity has been stagnant for more than two decades. This paper investigates the apparent contradiction between Japan’s high R&D intensity and its weak productivity performance by examining the allocation, composition, and effectiveness of innovation across industries.
ACADEMIC RESEARCH
JOURNAL ARTICLE
AI & Trade: Why Europe Cannot Afford to Lag on Adoption
YILDIRIM, M., 2026
Evidence points to substantial cross-country differences in AI adoption, particularly within Europe. Yet AI is not only a domestic transformation; it is also a productivity shock transmitted through international trade. Our analysis shows that countries can benefit from foreign AI progress through cheaper imports, but without sufficient domestic adoption, they risk losing competitiveness in AI-exposed sectors.
DATA VIZ
digital tools
Greenplexity
The global transition to a low-carbon economy is transforming what the world produces—and who prospers. By mapping local capabilities for producing green technologies, this interactive data visualization platform uncovers actionable strategies for green growth in your country. The ‘Greenplexity Index’ ranks the countries best positioned to compete and innovate in green industries going forward.
Explore Research Projects
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Project
Bolivia
Bolivia’s Economic Pivot
In response to Bolivia’s deepening economic crisis, our researchers examined the underlying causes of the country’s challenges and put forward ideas for short-term stabilization and medium-term growth. -
Project
Bolivia
Un Giro Económico para Bolivia
En respuesta a la profundización de la crisis económica de Bolivia, nuestros investigadores examinaron las causas subyacentes de los desafíos que enfrenta el país y plantearon ideas para la estabilización a corto plazo y el crecimiento a mediano plazo. -
Project
Europe
Promoting Economic Growth and Employment in Andalucía
Our researchers are identifying barriers to economic growth and pinpointing diversification opportunities across Andalusia, Spain’s southern most region. A key emphasis is placed on green growth and the region’s potential to become a key supplier of specific goods and services needed to help the world decarbonize. -
Project
Academic Research
Leveraging the Global Talent Pool to Jumpstart Prosperity in Emerging Economies
In this project, researchers measure countries’ degree of openness towards different groups of migrants, and test the hypothesis that more developed economies are more open to international migrants, and in particular to international talent. -
Project
Latin America
Charting Economic Growth Strategies in Hermosillo
As part of our research agenda on cities as engines of economic growth, researchers are studying emerging growth opportunities across Sonora with a focus on Hermosillo that stem from a context of relocation of global supply chains, green energy transition, and the rise of knowledge-intensive services. -
Project
North America
Pathways to Prosperity in Wyoming
This project leverages frameworks of growth diagnostics and economic complexity to address varied statewide challenges, while working collaboratively with stakeholders across the state to improve outcomes in housing, workforce access, local spending, and growth of energy opportunities.
Community of Practice
Policymakers, practitioners, and more
Since its inception in 2006, the Growth Lab has had the privilege to work with 5,000+ current and future policymakers and multilateral practitioners around the world through our research policy engagements, Executive Education courses, and graduate and mid-career programs here at the Harvard Kennedy School. We are motivated by this network of individuals working together to produce evidence-based research and policy to improve lives.