Conference Schedule

Day 1 Schedule

Friday, March 8th, 2024 | 8:00 am — 6:45 pm

8:00 — 8:45 am: Registration and Breakfast

8:45 — 9:00 am: Welcome remarks and Introduction of the GAP Initiative

  • Silvia Prina, Co-Director GAP, Associate Professor of Economics, Northeastern University

9:00 — 9:15 am: Welcome by Uta Poiger, Special Advisor to the Provost, Northeastern University

Keynote Lecture: Developmental Challenges in 21st Century

9:15 — 10:00 am: Keynote Speaker

  • Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics and Finance, Northwestern University and Chief Economist at USAID
  • S Anukriti, Senior Economist in the Development Research Group (Human Development Team), World Bank | Discussant

10:00 — 10:15 am: Short Break

Panel A: Future of the Development Research-Policy Nexus, Chat with Dean Karlan and Asim Khwaja

10:15 – 10:45 am: Speakers

  • Asim Ijaz Khwaja, Director, Center for International Development Sumitomo-FASID Professor of International Finance and Development, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics and Finance, Northwestern University and Chief Economist at USAID

Panel B: Behavioral Insights for Policy

10:45 am — 12:15 pm: Speakers

  • Eldar Shafir, Professor of Behavioral Science and Public Policy, Princeton University
  • Ashley V. Whillans, Volpert Family Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School
  • Frank Schilbach, Associate Professor of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Mary Steffel, Associate Professor, Marketing; Joseph G. Riesman Research Professor, Northeastern University | Moderator

12:15 — 1:30 pm: Lunch + Network

Panel C: Global Health and Challenges

1:30 — 3:00 pm: Speakers

  • Vikram Patel, Paul Farmer Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
  • Margaret McConnell, Associate Professor, Global Health Economics, Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
  • Mario Macis, Professor of Economics, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
  • Kristin Madison, Professor of Law and Health Sciences, School of Law and Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University | Moderator

3:00 — 3:15 pm: Short Break

3:15 — 3:45 pm: Introducing Northeastern University Junior Scholars

  • Shariq Mohammed, Assistant Professor of Economics
  • Shuo Zhang, Assistant Professor of Economics and Computer Science
  • Shantanu Khanna, Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Economics

3:45 — 3:50 pm: Short Break

3:50 — 3:55 pm: Introduce David Madigan, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Northeastern University

  • Nishith Prakash, Co-Director GAP, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Northeastern University

3:55 — 4:00 pm: Welcome Professor Joshua Angrist , Ford Professor of Economics, MIT, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2021

  • David Madigan, Provost and Senior Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Northeastern University

Keynote Lecture: A Sense of Discovery

4:00 — 4:30 pm: Keynote Speaker

  • Joshua Angrist, Ford Professor of Economics, MIT, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2021

4:30 — 5:00 pm: Meet and Greet with Professor Joshua Angrist over Coffee and Pastries

5:00 — 5:15 pm: Short Break

Panel D: The Last Mile Challenges and Solutions

5:15 — 6:45 pm: Speakers

  • Iqbal Dhaliwal, Global Executive Director, JPAL
  • Anil Swarup, Former Coal Secretary (Government of India) and Retired Indian Administrative Service Officer
  • Arianna Legovini, Director of the Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) department, World Bank
  • Silvia Prina, Co-Director, GAP, Associate Professor of Economics, Northeastern University | Moderator

Dinner Location : Curry Student Center 360 Huntington Ave. Boston, MA 02115 :: Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm

Day 2 Schedule

Saturday, March 9th, 2024 | 8:30 am — 6:00 pm

8:30 — 9:00 am: Breakfast

9:00 — 9:15 am: Welcome

  • Nishith Prakash, Co-Director, GAP, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Northeastern University

9:15 — 9:45 am: Introducing Northeastern University Junior Scholars

  • Sara Constantino, Assistant Professor of Psychology and Public Policy
  • John Lowrey, Assistant Professor of Supply Chain and Information Management and Health Sciences
  • Matthew B. Ross, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics

9:45 — 10:00 am: Short Break

Panel E: The Building Bridges by Designing Collaborative Interventions

10:00 — 11:30 am: Speakers

  • Bethany Park, Senior Director of Policy, Innovations for Poverty Action
  • Rajit Punhani, Indian Administrative Service Officer, Secretary, Rajya Sabha (Parliament of India)
  • Gonzalo Hernández Licona, Executive Secretary, National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy of Mexico
  • Nishith Prakash, Co-Director, GAP, Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Northeastern University | Moderator

11:30 — 12:30 pm: Lunch + Networking

Panel F: Evidence-Based Research and Policy Implementation

12:30 — 2:00 pm: Speakers

  • Rachel Glennerster, Associate Professor of Economics, Division of Social Science, University of Chicago, and former Chief Economist, UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (formerly known as the Department for International Development)
  • Siddharth Sharma, Lead Economist, World Bank
  • Anil Swarup, Former Coal Secretary (Government of India) and Retired Indian Administrative Service Officer
  • Priya Mukherjee, Assistant Professor at the Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin Madison | Moderator

2:00 — 2:15 pm: Short Break

2:15 — 2:20 pm: Introduce Kellee Tsai Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Northeastern University

  • Silvia Prina, Co-Director, GAP, Associate Professor of Economics, Northeastern University

2:20 — 2:25 pm: Welcome Professor Michael Kremer, University Professor in Economics, University of Chicago, Director of the Development Innovation Lab, Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2019

  • Kellee Tsai, Dean of the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Northeastern University

Keynote Lecture: Is Evidence-Based Social Innovation a Good Investment? Evidence from USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures

2:25 – 3:25 pm: Keynote Speaker

  • Michael Kremer, University Professor in Economics, University of Chicago, Director of the Development Innovation Lab, Becker Friedman Institute for Research in Economics, Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 2019

3:25 – 4:00 pm: Meet and Greet with Professor Michael Kremer over Coffee and Pastries

Panel G: Policing Challenges and Effective Interventions

4:00 — 5:30 pm: Speakers

  • Girija Borker, Economist and Gender Lead, Development Impact Evaluation Unit, World Bank
  • Daniel Keniston, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, E.J. Ourso College of Business, Louisiana State University
  • Anjani Kumar, Indian Police Service Officer, Chairman Road Safety Authority, Telangana
  • Sofia Amaral, Economist, South Asia Gender Innovation Lab, World Bank | Moderator

5:30 — 5:45 pm: Vote of Thanks

  • Kellee S. Tsai, Dean College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Northeastern University

5:45 — 6:00 pm: Depart after light refreshments

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