Following Dr. Khemani's presentation Professor Irfan Nooruddin moderated a discussion with Dean Joel Hellman, Professor Monica Arruda, and Professor James Habyarimana to discuss practical applications of the report in a global context.
This event was co-sponsored by the Georgetown University India Initiative, the Global Human Development Program, the African Studies Program, the Asian Studies Program, the Center for Latin American Studies, and the Masters of Science in Foreign Service Program.
Stuti Khemani is a senior economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank.
Joel Hellman is the dean of the School of Foreign Service and a former chief institutional economist at the World Bank.
Monica Arruda is an adjunct professor at the Center for Latin American Studies whose research focuses on illicit economies.
James Habyarimana is a Provost's Distinguished Associate Professor in the McCourt School of Public Policy.
Irfan Nooruddin is the Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor of Indian Politics and the director of the Georgetown India Initiative.
Facing adverse political incentives, policymakers and leaders in developing countries often fail to adopt or implement policies that are necessary for sustained economic development. Stuti Khemani, a senior economist in the Development Research Group of the World Bank, confronted this challenge during the launch of her new report, Making Politics Work For Development. During her talk at Georgetown University, she explained how the forces of citizen engagement and transparency in political processes can explain and hold the potential to improve these political incentives and can change behavioral norms among public-sector decision-makers.