Recent research has shown that learning gaps between girls and boys in school are only becoming more common. A new publication co-authored by BIG Lab’s Rebecca Thorton finds these educational gender gaps begin as early as preschool in 25 sub-Saharan countries. 🔗

Very cool that our colleague Lakshmi Iyer, @biglabnd.bsky.social, was honored as a member of the Provost's "All-Faculty Team" at last weekend's home football game. Learn more here: provost.nd.edu/faculty-reco...

New working paper by the BIG Lab's Heitor Pellegrina @ndecon.bsky.social @kellogginstitute.bsky.social

Register Now! Registration for the BIG Forum at Notre Dame closes September 12 - this Friday. We will have keynotes by Dean Karlan, Ted Miguel and Pete Klenow and great sessions looking at development through the lenses of micro, macro and political economy. buff.ly/XjHrEai

Looking forward to the great line up of speakers next month. Register below!

The Building Inclusive Growth (BIG) Forum is September 25-26 at Notre Dame. We'll have talks by @danilaserra-eco.bsky.social @deankarlan.bsky.social @tedmiguel.bsky.social @novosad.bsky.social and @taryndinkelman.bsky.social. #econsky Register now! 👇 biglab.nd.edu/news-events/...

We invite you to join us for the BIG Lab's first academic conference, the BIG Forum at Notre Dame on September 25-26. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers focused on addressing structural barriers to inclusive economic growth in LMICs. Program & registration: buff.ly/LENJYqB

We invite you to join us for the BIG Lab's first academic conference, the BIG Forum at Notre Dame on September 25-26. We have a fantastic line-up of speakers focused on addressing structural barriers to inclusive economic growth in LMICs. Program & registration: buff.ly/LENJYqB

New @nber.org working paper from the BIG Lab's Heitor Pellegrina & co-authors! In "Deforestation: A Global and Dynamic Perspective" they model the relationships between deforestation, agricultural land use & agricultural tariffs. @ndecon.bsky.social @artslettersnd.bsky.social

The Building Inclusive Growth (BIG) Forum is September 25-26 at Notre Dame. We'll have talks by @danilaserra-eco.bsky.social @deankarlan.bsky.social @tedmiguel.bsky.social @novosad.bsky.social and @taryndinkelman.bsky.social. #econsky Register now! 👇 biglab.nd.edu/news-events/...

New research by the BIG Lab's Director, Lakshmi Iyer 👇

The Building Inclusive Growth Lab @biglabnd.bsky.social will be hosting its BIG Forum this September 25-26. We have a great list of confirmed speakers. Check out the itinerary: biglab.nd.edu/news-events/...

A new pub by BIG Lab's Lakshmi Iyer has just dropped. Chapter 6 of the Handbook of Experimental Development Economics: Gender and natural experiments in developing countries, with Irma Clots-Figueras. @ndecon.bsky.social @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social @kellogginstitute.bsky.social

Call for papers: March 2026 @nber.org conference on Gender in the Economy: Structural Transformation and Women's Time Use, hosted by Claudia Goldin, Claudia Olivetti, and @biglabnd.bsky.social affiliate @taryndinkelman.bsky.social @ndecon.bsky.social. More information at buff.ly/tPcsTNh.

Great to see Heitor Pellegrina of @ndecon.bsky.social and the BIG Lab contributing to the African Econometrics Summer University in Abidjan! He led a module on new trends in migration, specialization, & trade, focusing on the realities of the developing world. 🌍📚

New research by Lakshmi Iyer & Coleson Weir explores the persistence of colonial-era disparities in India, finding that some have faded while others remain, highlighting the impact of targeted policies. Journal of Development Economics: buff.ly/sdfvnh0

Important work on labor markets and monopsony power from the BIG Lab's Alejandro Estefan and Joseph Kaboski + coauthors

The BIG Lab's @taryndinkelman.bsky.social and co-authors ask if using a clean-burning fuel like LGP can save Indian women time and reduce the exposure to indoor air pollution caused by burning wood or dung? If so, why is the uptake of LPG so low? @kellogginstitute.bsky.social @ndecon.bsky.social‬

Mark your calendars for BIG Lab's inaugural conference, the BIG Forum, happening on September 25-26. Registration kicks off in July. #BIGForum biglab.nd.edu/news-events/... @artslettersnd.bsky.social @ndecon.bsky.social @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social @kellogginstitute.bsky.social

The CDC has stopped advising COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women. Global health expert and BIG Lab affiliate @santosh_econ says this policy shift could adversely affect Black women, who often have limited access to healthcare. go.nd.edu/7c92df. @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social

A new publication by the BIG Lab's Jeremy Majerovitz 👇 @ndecon.bsky.social @artslettersnd.bsky.social

Joe Kaboski, past BIG Lab Director, gave a VDEV/CEPR/BREAD seminar focused on joint work with Alejandro Estefan et al, exploring monopsony labor markets in Mexico. @artslettersnd.bsky.social @ndecon.bsky.social @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social @kellogginstitute.bsky.social buff.ly/FbbAxLJ

Mark your calendars for BIG Lab's inaugural conference, the BIG Forum, happening on September 25-26. Registration kicks off in July. #BIGForum biglab.nd.edu/news-events/... @artslettersnd.bsky.social @ndecon.bsky.social @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social @kellogginstitute.bsky.social

When you pick up your amazing @biglabnd.bsky.social / @ndecon.bsky.social RA/predoc to go out for dinner to celebrate an A in real analysis and realize you dressed as twins💕 #womeninecon

The BIG Lab is hiring! Do you want to contribute to research on economic growth and development. We're looking for a writer who understands economics and data. This is a part-time, remote position. jobs.nd.edu/postings/37617

First up, "Enfranchisement, Political Participation, and Political Competition: Evidence from Colonial and Independent India," from Lakshmi Iyer (along with Cassan and Ali Mirza), published in Journal of Economic History. @biglabnd.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

The BIG Lab takes inspiration from these words of Pope Francis, "We cannot wait any longer to deal with the structural causes of poverty".

Faculty Fellow Taryn Dinkelman writes in an IGC blog about her research on electrification in rural South Africa Read: bit.ly/4lsBrtv

How do rural roads reshape economies & societies? A working paper by Santosh Kumar Guatam et al. digs into India's PMGSY program finding roads: ⬆️ Producer prices ⬇️ Consumer prices ➡️ Labor shift to local work buff.ly/LFZqcqg @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social @kellogginstitute.bsky.social

BIG Lab affiliate @taryndinkelman.bsky.social asks how long it takes households to fully take advantage of electric connections. @ndecon.bsky.social @notredame.bsky.social @kellogginstitute.bsky.social @artslettersnd.bsky.social

Nice writeup on Lakshmi Iyer's recent paper on the influence of papal speeches on fertility patterns in Latin America. Have a read! @biglabnd.bsky.social @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social news.nd.edu/news/who-the...

Lots going on in the department this week! Later this week, we are excited to host Lori Beaman @loribeaman.bsky.social aman from Northwestern as part of our "New Frontiers in Economic Development" lecture series. @biglabnd.bsky.social @keoughglobalnd.bsky.social

Worried about losing access to US federal data that may go off-line, or already is? You’re not alone—but duplication isn’t the answer. Many ongoing efforts have already archived key datasets and many more are ongoing. Check out these existing resources and, if you can, support their work. 🧵

Link to the podcast: t.co/tjSGQJ7bmH

Our paper (joint with Lakshmi Iyer and @RinchanMirza ) on the consequences of enfranchisement in colonial India is out in the Journal of Economic History. See below the podcast in which my friend and co-author Lakshmi Iyer @nd_econ @BIGLabND presents it. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Did the BIG Lab's Egyptian Research Associate survive her first Midwestern winter?

New publication: "Enfranchisement, Political Participation, and Political Competition: Evidence from Colonial and Independent India," from our colleague Lakshmi Iyer, (with Cassan and Mirza) out in the Journal of Economic History. @biglabnd.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

BIG Lab Postdoc Jeremy Majerovitz will be staying at Notre Dame! He's been hired as an Assistant Prof in the Economics Dept starting this fall. He focuses on the macroeconomics of development, esp. misallocation, financial frictions & firm behavior. @nd_econ

A new project from the BIG Lab Director Lakshmi Iyer!

BIG Lab-affiliates Maurice Sikenyi, Ph.D. & Patrizio Piraino are working with local education partners Building Tomorrow in Uganda, Zizi Afrique Foundation in Kenya and the Association for Research in Education for Development in Senegal, seeking solutions to global poverty. buff.ly/kYO0DkN

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📢 Free Virtual Course for Economics Students! The ReCIPE (@cepr.org) research programme is hosting a course on ‘Key Concepts for Economies in Conflict and Fragile Settings’, taught by a series of experts in the field. More details & registration: recipe.cepr.org/event/virtua...

@notredameindc.bsky.social Welcome to Blue Sky!

The BIG Lab’s @edziadula.bsky.social will be a featured speaker at a conference on migration in Mexico. 👇

Trade has fueled agricultural modernization by providing crucial inputs like fertilizers and machinery, increasing yields and food consumption globally. Vox Dev discusses Heitor Pellegrina's recent paper. #econsky (buff.ly/3EpgwGS).

👋 Hi! J-PAL is now on Bluesky! 📊 We’re looking forward to bringing conversations on evidence-informed policy to this new space. Follow us for updates on the latest research, policy insights, and how rigorous evidence is helping shape a better world.

New working paper by BIG Lab affiliates Alejandro Estefan and Joseph Kaboski examines the impact of banning domestic labor outsourcing in Mexico. The 2021 ban decreased outsourcing, increased wages without impacting employment, productivity, or output. https://buff.ly/4jXwKHv @ndecon.bsky.social

Excited to see Lakshmi and my work cited in Simon Johnson’s Nobel Lecture this past week! Great way to end the semester. Link to clip of Johnson's lecture: youtube.com/clip/Ugkxu2-... @ndecon.bsky.social @biglabnd.bsky.social

We are extraordinarily excited to formally announce that Enrique Seira will join our department for fall 2025 as the Joe and Deborah Loughrey Professor of Economics and Human Development. Learn more about Enrique and his scholarship here: enriqueseira.weebly.com