The Harvard Center for International Development (CID) is a research center working across the University and a global network of researchers and practitioners to build an international pool of talent, convene academic and practitioner networks, and deploy breakthrough research to address the world’s most pressing challenges. At CID, we believe that together we can design and implement policies that help everyone realize their full potential. CID is housed at Harvard Kennedy School.

 

Spotlight

 

The Future of U.S. Foreign Aid

In the wake of policy shifts from the Trump administration, the future of international aid, economic development, and global infrastructure hangs in the balance. CID has convened top government leaders, policymakers, and NGO experts to break down the new reality.

Hear from Our Experts
 

Faculty Spotlight: Wolfram Schlenker

Wolfram Schlenker, Ray A. Goldberg Professor at Harvard Kennedy School and CID Faculty Affiliate, examines how climate change and agricultural policy impact global food security, emphasizing the risks of extreme heat and trade protectionism.

 
 
Faculty Spotlight
 

Students Redefining International Development

At CID, students from around the world engage in transformative research, policy dialogue, and global fieldwork, equipping them to drive impact at scale. CID empowers students—especially international students at Harvard—to address the world’s most pressing development challenges.

Global Changemakers
 

Global Empowerment Meeting

CID held its 16th annual Global Empowerment Meeting, GEM25: Catalyzing AI for Inclusive Change, on April 29th. GEM25 focused on both the promising power of artificial intelligence (AI) in advancing development and its potential to widen existing inequities in emerging economies.

GEM25
CID Voices Blog
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CID Faculty Research Insights
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CID FACULTY PUBLICATIONS
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June 9, 2025 Seeing like a State or Seeing the State? A Qualitative Study of a Government Program to Support Women’s Self-Help Groups in Madhya Pradesh, India
June 1, 2025 Performance of the revised World Health Organization cardiovascular disease risk prediction models for the Middle East and North Africa: a validation study in the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study
 Goodarz Danaei
May 1, 2025 Sovereign vs. corporate debt and default: More similar than you think
 Carmen Reinhart
May 1, 2025 Putting US Fiscal Policy on a Sustainable Path
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May 1, 2025 The global distribution of authorship in economics journals
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Research Programs & Initiatives

 

China and the Global Economy

Fostering a deeper understanding of the Chinese economy and its far-reaching implications for the global economic landscape.

China and the Global Economy
 

Global Education and Research: Unleashing Potential

Transforming education systems and developing personalized learning journeys at scale.

Global Education & Research
 

Growth Lab

The Growth Lab pushes the frontiers of economic growth & development policy research, collaborates with policymakers to design actions, and shares insights through teaching, tools and publications.

Growth Diagnostics
 

The Morocco Innovation and Evaluation Lab

Fostering effective policy-making by promoting actionable, evidence-backed research in Morocco.

Innovation and Evaluation
 

Reimagining the Economy

The Reimagining the Economy project explores local labor market, industrial, and development policies to reshape narratives about how we achieve inclusive prosperity.

Labor & Development
 

Social Economics Lab

Creating and conducting large-scale online social economic surveys and experiments that shed light on people’s understanding and reasoning about economic matters.

Social Economics
 

Social Protection Initiative

The Social Protection Initiative brings together researchers, governments, and nonprofits to spur the next generation of cutting-edge research in social protection in low- and middle-income countries.

Social Protection
 

Visiting Researcher Program

CID's Visiting Researcher Program welcomes PhD and Postdoc researchers to pursue their research for a year in residence at Harvard Kennedy School and join the tight-knit research community at CID.

Visiting Researchers
CID Research Programs

CID by the Numbers

Faculty affiliates across Harvard University
Approximate number of countries our work spans across
Academic research publications produced each year
Connect with CID

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