Peking University-Growth Lab Workshop I: New Economic Geographies in a Changing World

Speakers: 
Simona Iammarino, Professor of Economic Geography, London School of Ecnoomics and Political Science
Philip McCann, Chair in Urban and Regional Economics, Sheffield University Management School
Frank Neffke, Research Director, Growth Lab

Please register in advance for this event. 

The long-term development paths of countries and regions are shaped by a never-ending process of restructuring, with some countries and regions achieving fast growth over longer periods while others being locked into a trajectory of relative and sometimes absolute decline. Nonetheless, in some cases, some lagging regions and countries find renewed growth and previously vibrant countries and regions may lose momentum. It appears that economic restructuring benefits some countries and regions and put others at a disadvantage. The set of existing economic, political, and social and cultural activities and functions in a countries or region is important in this regard, and will determine whether a country or region can be at the forefront of such restructurings, can position itself to benefit from new rounds of investment and innovation, and can achieve more sustainable development, or instead will lose out and become marginalized. The variety in the development of countries and regions in the context of constant restructuring in the economy defies predictions of a clear-cut convergence or divergence, and instead leads to an intricate pattern of uneven development depending on a multitude of factors. Such combined and uneven development between countries and regions has of course long been a central research topic within economic geography, regional science and urban studies.

The aim of this workshop is to think about how to better conceptualize and empirically explore the development of (and between) countries and regions. This is particularly timely for several reasons. First, countries and regions have assumed increasing prominence over the past few decades in discussions about economic development, and with this there is a renewed interest in explaining deep-rooted differences in performance. Second, evolutionary perspectives and transitions to sustainable development have established themselves as key reference points in theorizing current economic, social and environmental challenges. Yet more work needs to be done to further develop these conceptual advances for understanding the long-term development of countries and regions and the necessary spatial governance, and for working out relevant policy implications. Finally, a new round of restructuring in the world economy, triggered by the 2007/8 global economic crisis and the outbreak of COVID-19, has been taking place. Consequently, we have reached a critical juncture to rethink our conceptualization of the world economy and regional economic development. At this juncture, there also appears scope for more interaction between scholars from different parts of the world.

Visit the workshop website for more information about the agenda and speakers. 

Joining the Growth Lab: A Behind the Scenes Look

On Thursday, Nov. 19th at 8:30 am EDT, Harvard’s Growth Lab invites you to attend “Joining the Growth Lab: A Behind the Scenes Look.” Learn more about what it’s like to be a Growth Lab Research Fellow with short presentations by Nikita Taniparti, Tim O’Brien, Semiray Kasoolu, and Frank Muci. They will describe their experience in this role where they contribute to the core research agenda of the Lab while also collaborating with government leaders and development practitioners in the field to apply research to policy problems in countries like Jordan, Albania, Ethiopia, and Namibia. Read the Growth Lab Research Fellow job description and apply today. 

Please register in advance for this event.

Joining the Growth Lab: A Behind the Scenes Look (Harvard Community)

On Tuesday, Nov. 10th at 12pm EDT, Harvard’s Growth Lab invites members of the Harvard community to attend “Joining the Growth Lab: A Behind the Scenes Look.” Learn more about what it’s like to be a Growth Lab Research Fellow with short presentations by Nikita Taniparti, Tim O’Brien, Semiray Kasoolu, and Frank Muci. They will describe their experience in this role where they contribute to the core research agenda of the Lab while also collaborating with government leaders and development practitioners in the field to apply research to policy problems in countries like Jordan, Albania, Ethiopia, and Namibia. Read the Growth Lab Research Fellow job description and apply today. 

Please register in advance for this event. Members outside of the Harvard community are invited to attend a similar session on November 19th at 8:30am EDT. 

The Growth Lab’s COVID-19 Response & Recovery

Join us on Tuesday, October 6, 2020, for the “The Growth Lab’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery” event as a part of Harvard’s WorldWideWeek. The event will feature a discussion with Growth Lab Faculty Director Ricardo Hausmann and COVID-19 Task Force members about the research we conducted around the epidemic and its potential impacts. We will also highlight how the GL has translated this research into country-specific projects, focusing on our work in developing government responses and economic recovery plans.

Please register in advance to secure your spot at this event. 

About Worldwide Week: Harvard’s Worldwide Week is a university-wide annual program of events that highlights the breadth of Harvard’s global engagement. WWW is unique in that it is intended for both an international audience and current Harvard students; it showcases the work from the various schools, centers, departments, and student organizations.

Growth Lab Viz Hub Launch Event

This event will be held virtually on Zoom, please register in advance to secure your spot.

About the Viz Hub: Over the last decade, our portfolio of visualization tools has emerged through the close collaboration between the Growth Lab’s Digital Development & Design team and our Academic and Applied Research units. Our flagship tool, the Atlas of Economic Complexity, exemplifies this collaboration by showcasing research, datasets and pedagogy developed across multidisciplinary teams and countless iterations. Since its launch in 2013, the Atlas has been complimented by sub-national Atlases, country dashboards, interactive stories, open source software packages and working prototypes.

All projects found on the Viz Hub are built in-house by the Growth Lab’s Digital Development & Design Team, an interdisciplinary group that connects economic and policy research with best practices from information design, software development, data science, product management and digital humanities. We believe that easy-to-use software can be a vital channel to effectively interpret and analyze complex concepts.

Measuring Soft Skills and the Science of Human Potential

Speaker: David Deming, Director, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, HKS; Professor of Public Policy, HKS; Professor of Education and Economics, HGSE.

About the Speaker: David Deming is a Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and the Faculty Director of the Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy. His research focuses broadly on the economics of skill development, education and labor markets. He is a Principal Investigator (along with Raj Chetty and John Friedman) at the CLIMB Initiative, an organization that seeks to study and improve the role of higher education in social mobility. Deming also studies the “future of work”, in particular focusing on how technology changes the labor market returns to skills and the resulting implications for college and career pathways. He recently won the David N. Kershaw Prize, which is awarded biannually to scholars who have made distinguished contributions to the field of public policy and management under the age of 40. He is currently serving as a coeditor at the AEJ: Applied.

Please RSVP below for this event. Zoom details will be shared with registered participants on the day of the event.

Immigration and the Global Labor Force Before and After Covid-19

Speaker: Gordon Hanson, Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy, Harvard Kennedy School.

About the Speaker: Gordon Hanson is the Peter Wertheim Professor in Urban Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. He is also a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and co-editor of the Journal of Economic Perspectives. Hanson received his Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1992 and his B.A. in economics from Occidental College in 1986. Prior to joining Harvard in 2020, he held the Pacific Economic Cooperation Chair in International Economic Relations at UC San Diego, where he was founding director of the Center on Global Transformation. Hanson previously served on the economics faculties of the University of Michigan and the University of Texas. In his scholarship, Hanson specializes in international trade, international migration and economic geography. He has published extensively in top economics journals, is widely cited for his research by scholars from across the social sciences and is frequently quoted in major media outlets. Hanson’s current research addresses how globalization in the form of immigration and expanded trade with China have affected U.S. local labor markets. In a new endeavor, he is working with a multidisciplinary team of scholars to use satellite imagery to assess the impacts of expanding transportation networks, exposure to extreme weather, and related events on urban economic activity.

Please RSVP below for this event. Zoom details will be shared on the day of the event.