Activities

IDEA will support the global development economics community through scholarly exchange, career development, and research infrastructure.

Activities Calendar

Have an idea for a session, or want to host a meetup in your region? Email program@idea.devecon.org.

Working Paper Series

IDEA will launch an open-access working paper series, providing DOIs and feeds to RePEc and Google Scholar. The series will be open to all development economists.

Conferences & Events

IDEA will serve as a coordination platform for the global development economics conference ecosystem:

Annual conference with regional rotation through developing countries
Coordination with existing conferences
Virtual seminars and webinar series
Regional meetups and workshops

Interested in getting involved with IDEA's programming? Email program@idea.devecon.org.

Career Development

IDEA will support development economists at every career stage, with particular focus on scholars in the Global South:

Mentoring network connecting early-career researchers with senior scholars
Paper workshopping and feedback programs
Professional development resources
Pipeline support from undergraduate through early career

If you'd like to contribute as a mentor or organizer, reach out at career-dev@idea.devecon.org.

IDEA in the News

Ideas for India · Jul 2026

"Labour economists have the Society of Labor Economists. Health economists have the International Health Economics Association. Economic historians have the Economic History Association. What about development economists?"

Read the full article on Ideas for India →

Center for Global Development · Jun 2026

"IDEA is the first global professional association of development economists; it is designed to be open and democratically governed. It is open to all who work in or study development economics, regardless of career stage, country, or intellectual tradition."

Read the full article on CGD →

World Bank Development Impact · Jun 2026

"Development economists now have a global professional home. The International Development Economics Association (IDEA), founded in January 2026 by a Founding Board of 89 scholars from over 40 countries, invites development economists worldwide to join its community today."

Read the full article on Development Impact →

Partnerships

IDEA's founding partner is BREAD — the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development — with whom we share a commitment to advancing rigorous development economics research worldwide.