{
  "title": "Driving Change: Women-Led Economics",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik",
  "overlayPath": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik/index.md",
  "summary": "The developing world’s vibrant research in the face of limited resources offers valuable global insights",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview",
      "content": "- Article author: DANI RODRIK, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School.\n- Publication: F&D Magazine, March 2025.\n- Central premise: Research produced in developing economies offers valuable global insights and is underrepresented in top economics journals and policy debates.\n- Key numeric findings:\n  - Authors based in developing economies account for only 7 percent of articles in the top 10 journals of the profession.\n  - Developing economies’ collective weight in the world economy exceeds 60 percent (measured by their global GDP share at purchasing power parity)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Barriers to visibility and policy influence",
      "content": "- Structural and practical obstacles:\n  - Western institutions have long shaped empirical research and policy recommendations.\n  - Limited footprint of developing-economy authors in top journals constrains influence.\n  - Translating research into policy requires sustained engagement with policymakers and the public, which competes with researchers' limited time and resources.\n- Consequences:\n  - Research promotion within academic circles does not guarantee wider policy uptake.\n  - The task of ensuring existing research influences policy is often underfunded and undervalued."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Global relevance of research from developing economies",
      "content": "- Comparative insights and practical findings:\n  - Context-specific solutions in developing economies can outperform standard policy assumptions. Examples highlighted:\n    - Formal banking is commonly assumed best for financial inclusion, but informal saving groups and mobile money can sometimes serve local needs better.\n    - Education policy emphasis on building more schools can be less effective than targeted interventions such as providing bicycles or improving access to restrooms for menstrual hygiene to improve attendance.\n- Theoretical contributions:\n  - Empirical work from developing economies tests the universality of economic principles and can uncover new mechanisms less visible in developed economies.\n  - Diversifying evidence and perspectives strengthens the field of economics and its global applicability."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Women economists: contributions and challenges",
      "content": "- Representation and topics:\n  - Women economists represent nearly half the global population and often research topics historically underexplored that directly affect women’s lives and standards of living.\n- Barriers faced:\n  - Limited access to higher education and labor markets.\n  - Balancing work and motherhood.\n  - Institutional constraints and gender-based challenges that impede producing timely, competitive research.\n- Roles beyond research:\n  - Many women economists act as advocates and activists, using economic reasoning to promote greater equity."
    },
    {
      "heading": "IEA-WE initiative and partnerships",
      "content": "- Initiative: International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics (IEA-WE).\n  - Inception year: 2023.\n  - Objectives: Amplify voices of women economists and help overcome barriers to research production and publication.\n  - Activities: Support research and facilitate publication of articles on a wide range of often-overlooked topics.\n- Examples of research topics promoted:\n  - Societal impacts of sovereign debt on the elderly.\n  - Effects of extreme heat on business delinquency.\n- Outreach and impact goals:\n  - Showcase work being conducted by women economists in their countries.\n  - Foster a more inclusive global economic narrative.\n  - Inspire more young women to pursue careers in economics and public policy.\n- Partnership noted in article:\n  - F&D partnered to present conversations with four economists: Ipek Ilkkaracan, Rose Ngugi, Marcela Eslava, and Rumana Huque.\n\nSource: Driving Change: Women-Led Economics, F&D Magazine, DANI RODRIK, March 2025.\n\n---\n\n Content in this bundle\n\n- Driving Change — Dani Rodrik\n  - Driving Change — Dani Rodrik (Markdown version){rel=\"alternate\" type=\"text/markdown\"}\n  - Driving Change — Dani Rodrik (PDF){rel=\"external\" type=\"application/pdf\"}\n\n---\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik"
    }
  ],
  "bullets": [
    "[Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik/index.md)",
    "[Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik/index.json)",
    "[Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik/bundle-manifest.json)",
    "Authors: Dani Rodrik",
    "Published: March 3, 2025",
    "Article author: DANI RODRIK, Ford Foundation Professor of International Political Economy at the Harvard Kennedy School.",
    "Publication: F&D Magazine, March 2025.",
    "Central premise: Research produced in developing economies offers valuable global insights and is underrepresented in top economics journals and policy debates.",
    "Key numeric findings:",
    "Structural and practical obstacles:",
    "Consequences:",
    "Comparative insights and practical findings:",
    "Theoretical contributions:",
    "Representation and topics:",
    "Barriers faced:",
    "Roles beyond research:",
    "Initiative: International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics (IEA-WE).",
    "Examples of research topics promoted:",
    "Outreach and impact goals:",
    "Partnership noted in article:",
    "**Driving Change — Dani Rodrik**"
  ],
  "related": [
    {
      "title": "Driving Change — Dani Rodrik",
      "role": "document",
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2025/03/rodrik.pdf",
      "summary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2025/03/rodrik.pdf.md",
        "mime": "text/markdown"
      },
      "binary": {
        "path": "/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2025/03/rodrik.pdf",
        "mime": "application/pdf"
      }
    }
  ],
  "alternates": {
    "markdown": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik/index.md",
    "json": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik/index.json",
    "bundleManifest": "/en/publications/fandd/issues/2025/03/driving-change-women-led-economics-dani-rodrik/bundle-manifest.json"
  },
  "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-15T19:43:30.977Z"
}