June 8, 2010—Whether reconciling fiscal belt tightening with the need for policies to spur growth and jobs; finding new ways of measuring well-being, promoting aid effectiveness; or identifying the factors behind successful competition policy, economists and development experts are thinking in new ways and engaging across disciplines and continents.

“To effectively tackle the current global challenges, there is a great need for systematically researched knowledge to guide policy-making, political decisions and implementation. It should be underpinned by context-specific analyses,” said Gunilla Carlsson, Minister for International Development Cooperation, during opening remarks at the Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics (ABCDE), held from May 31-June 2 in Stockholm.

‘Development Challenges in a Post-Crisis World’ was the overall theme of the event. Sweden’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Foreign Affairs co-hosted the conference, along with the World Bank’s Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC).

A webcast Development Debate included Nobel Laureates Robert Solow, James Mirrlees and Eric Maskin, as well as top thinkers from the developing world. The debate was organized by the World Bank Institute (WBI) and is part of a series of global and regional dialogues to be delivered quarterly.  

Read the complete story on the World Bank's home page.

Read the story on the previous Development Debate.