Center for Research in the Economics of Development (CRED)

The Center for Research in the Economics of Development (CRED) is a research entity dedicated to the study of development economics. More precisely, researchers work on issues related to micro-institutions, collective action, market development and political economy. An important part of the research carried out at CRED relies on first-hand data collected by researchers in numerous countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Both theoretical and empirical work is regularly produced by a team of 6 permanent academic researchers as well as 10 to 15 Ph.D. students and post-doctoral researchers.

 

 

CRED researchers commonly organize and report on their findings in several international conferences such as the European Development Network (EUDN) Conference, the Theoretical Research in Development Economics (ThReD) Conference and the India-China Conference. CRED members also interact with international researchers within the Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) network, a five-year research program funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID). Finally, CRED researchers regularly take part in scientific committees within the National Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS) and the European Research Council (ERC).

CRED’s funding comes from several sources, such as the Excellence of Science (EOS) project, the National Fund for Scientific Research (FRS-FNRS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union through the ERC Starting Grant. CRED researchers target publications in top-tier scientific journals such as the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, the World Development, the Journal of Development Economics, the Journal of Agricultural Economics and the Journal of Public Economics.

 

CRED’s current research themes

 

  • Institutions, social norms and development, as attested by the center’s leading role in the Economic Development and Institutions (EDI) academic initiative supported by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

 

  • Gender discrimination, household bargaining and poverty, notably through the ERC Starting Grant received by Professor Catherine Guirkinger. The grant supports the “African Women” research project that investigates the economic forces, incentives and constraints that drive discrimination against women in Sub-Saharan Africa.

 

  • Economic development and market integration, a research theme supported by the Excellence of Science (EOS) initiative of the Belgian Government.

 

  • Development finance through the recent (May 2017 – October 2018) Belgian policy research group on Financing for Development (BeFind) initiative that brought together both Belgian policymakers and research center members from KU Leuven, Universiteit Antwerpen and UNamur.