Professor Newman will be presenting "Against the headwinds: Evidence-based development in a turbulent world".
Professor Newman will demonstrate how rigorous, policy-engaged research, grounded in robust empirical evidence, serves as a critical tool for navigating these headwinds. Drawing on field experiments and firm-level analyses from sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, she examines how targeted interventions, coupled with evidence-based policies to improve firm productivity, job creation and stimulate economic growth, can contribute to inclusive and sustainable development. She presents findings from studies on firm productivity and trade integration, as well as from randomized controlled trials addressing agricultural information gaps, behavioural training for workers, and economic inclusion for refugees and vulnerable women. These cases offer insights into what works, what doesn’t, and why.
Carol Newman is a Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics. She joined Trinity in 2002 and has held visiting positions at the University of Copenhagen (Københavns Universitet), the University of Chicago, and the University of Bologna (Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna). She is Chair of the Board of Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP), a Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow at the United Nations University - UNU-WIDER - United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research and a consultant to the The World Bank. She serves as an International Resource Person for the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) and since 2023 has chaired Ireland’s National Economic Dialogue.