Evaluating a private-sector initiative to increase technology adoption Of the 14% of the world’s population that live without access to modern electricity, 95% live in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Studies have shown that clean-energy technologies such as solar-powered lighting and cook stoves can increase income and save household energy costs in emerging markets. Rooftop solar-technology…
The political economy of displacement and refugee flows Large-scale population movements disrupt the economies and social fabrics of many countries. Understanding how substantial populations of involuntarily displaced individuals fare economically and how host communities are affected is crucial. This research explores the developmental impacts of refugee flows and the effect on host communities, and whether…
Antecedents and implications of the Expanded Access Programme in the pharmaceutical industry The lack of access to drugs that treat deadly diseases is a massive global health challenge, especially in developing countries. In 2016, of nearly 37 million people living with HIV, one million died due to a lack of effective drugs and therapies. This…
A randomised controlled trial of push vs. pull marketing strategies in rural India For millions of rural consumers in developing countries, the means used for everyday tasks such as cooking, drinking water, and lighting are potentially lethal acts, even though less harmful alternatives are widely used by their urban contemporaries. The quality, availability and affordability…
Investigating ways to cure disease, reduce mortality rates and improve life expectancy The challenge Research and development (R&D) expenditure in the pharmaceutical industry is extremely high. However, developing countries face severe resource constraints and weak institutions, and their urgent need for medicines can only be met by profit-driven, big pharmaceutical firms. Why do (some) firms…
Helping parents make better child nutrition and immunisation decisions The challenge Undernutrition contributes to more than half of all deaths of children under the age of five and is directly linked with economic development (Unicef, 2018a). Lack of immunisation is also a widespread problem in poor communities. Liquidity constraints can make food products unaffordable, resulting…
Understanding the effects of regulation on start-up activity and wage inequality The Challenge Reduced entrepreneurial activity and wage inequality is one of the world’s most pressing challenges and a cause of friction between large and small firms. Increased regulatory burden, especially on smaller firms, can explain the 50% decline in start-up activity in the US…
Establishing an interdisciplinary community of practice The Challenge Cyber attacks have the capacity to cause great financial and physical harm to individuals and households, disrupt business operations, and destabilise entire communities. These threats are particularly acute for institutionally-fragile environments with poor penetration of training and education. A first-order concern are large-scale, state-sponsored cyber attacks that…
Helping workers from poorer backgrounds fulfil their potential The Challenge There is great focus today on providing equal-education opportunities for individuals from poorer backgrounds to help them attain socioeconomic mobility, thereby reducing the attainment gap and inequality. Organisations are the primary source of economic value-generation but, while some studies suggest that large organisations mitigate inequality,…
Can less flexible data plans make users better off? The challenge Through their increased prevalence, smartphones have become a key social development tool for slum-dwellers. Particularly, they are considered as a ‘force multiplier’ to effectively deliver services and information to isolated markets.Although smartphones carry great potential, accessibility alone may not be enough to make a…