Format:
Onsite

Coordinators:
Young Scholars Initiative, inequality@youngscholarsinitiative.org

Abstract:
The challenges of understanding the fundamentals of economics on a global scale are well illustrated by the difficulties—and often failures—of transplanting successful policies from one country to another. While many of these policies, such as a focus on education or infrastructure, have substantially improved the prosperity of nations, new problems, like brain drain or debt crises, cast these once-universal solutions in a less favorable light. Moreover, they leave open the question: how can a developing society be transformed into a developed one?

With the awarding of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics for the study of the disparities in prosperity between nations and the role of institutions in this process, it is now more important than ever to open space for academic research that moves beyond the Euro/North Atlantic perspective and creates an economy for—and with—all.

For the 2025 Development Days Conference and Pre-Conference Workshop, we enthusiastically welcome submissions from postgraduate and early-career researchers working on the following subjects, or on other topics related to the conference theme:

1. Critical appraisals and alternative approaches to the role of institutions in national development and prosperity.
2. Alternative measurements of development and institutional effectiveness.
3. Southern-based explanations for the wealth of rich nations and their role in perpetuating the status quo of differential wealth.
4. Models of economic development based on alternative fundamentals to orthodox economics.

We encourage prospective authors to adopt a critical and heterodox perspective on the role of institutions in development, drawing upon diverse disciplinary lenses such as economics, sociology, political science, and development studies. Furthermore, we eagerly anticipate contributions that amplify the voices and experiences of marginalized communities and societal segments.

Submitted papers should adhere to the conference’s author guidelines and range between 3,000 to 5,000 words. Please submit your abstract (up to 500 words) through this form (https://forms.gle/mcYZDR5VTA6WcgXh9) by the 24th of November. Notification of abstract acceptance will be conveyed by the 2nd of December. Should your abstract be accepted, you will be invited to submit a full paper by the 31st of January.

Applicants can also apply to be considered for a travel and accommodation scholarship.

Please submit your paper abstracts, or any inquiries, to the following email: inequality@youngscholarsinitiative.org

This call is also available here at YSI Inequality Working Group: https://ysi.ineteconomics.org/event/transitioning-from-global-inequalities-the-role-of-institutions-in-development/2025-02-26/ 

Word count for abstract submission: 500