Governance

IDEA is governed by a 15-member Board of Directors representing development economics research across six world regions. The Board was elected by the Founding Board and serves two-year terms beginning April 2026.

Name Institution Role Region
Dean Yang University of Michigan President North America
Tarun Jain Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad Secretary-Treasurer Asia
Ashani Amarasinghe University of Sydney Oceania Rep Oceania
Edward Asiedu University of Ghana Africa Rep Africa
Giorgio Chiovelli Universidad de Montevideo Latin America Rep Latin America
Owen Ozier Williams College North America Rep North America
Dina Pomeranz University of Zurich Europe Rep Europe
Farah Said Lahore University of Management Sciences Asia Rep Asia
Emily Beam University of Vermont At-Large North America
Giacomo De Giorgi University of Geneva At-Large Europe
Eric Edmonds Dartmouth College At-Large North America
Paolo Falco University of Copenhagen At-Large Europe
Willa Friedman University of Houston At-Large North America
Ethan Ligon UC Berkeley At-Large North America
Nishith Prakash Northeastern University At-Large North America

Governance

The Board consists of 2 Officers, 6 Regional Representatives (one per world region), and 7 At-Large Members. During the initial two-year period (2026–2028), the Board operates under transitional provisions. Future elections will be open to all voting members on a biennial cycle.

Committees

The Board's work is organized through five committees:

Committee Contact
Finance finance@idea.devecon.org
Membership membership@idea.devecon.org
Program program@idea.devecon.org
Career Development career-dev@idea.devecon.org
Partnerships partnerships@idea.devecon.org

Bylaws (Adopted January 30, 2026)

IDEA's bylaws were adopted on January 30, 2026 by the Founding Board. They define the association's purpose, membership, Board structure, elections, and amendment process.

Read the full bylaws (PDF) →

Founding Board

IDEA was established by 89 development economists from institutions across six world regions, who adopted the founding bylaws in January 2026.

See the full Founding Board →

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