Crowd of Black Lives Matters demonstrators marching in the street.
Feature: The Democratic Necessity of Reckoning

Erica Chenoweth reviews scholarship that overwhelmingly shows the Black Lives Matter movement generated high levels of public awareness about systemic racism and increased support for criminal justice reform.

Electronic stock ticker board with numbers and arabic letters.
Feature: Against Rule-of-Thumb Economics

Dani Rodrik argues against neoliberalism’s universal rule-of-thumb approach and for economic analyses grounded in contextual dependencies.

Several hands of team members covering one another in a huddle above a work table.
Feature: Leaders’ Psychological Bravery

Dana Born explores what skills leaders need to cultivate psychological safety on their teams and across their organizations.

Dollars and Euros piled on top of one another.
Feature: Dollar vs. Euro as International Reserve Currencies

Jeffrey Frankel explores the strengths and weaknesses of using the Dollar and the Euro as international reserve currencies.

Harvard Kennedy School faculty disseminate their research in working publications and papers that contribute to public knowledge and fuel policy innovation. This list features recent faculty publications, including journal articles, books, edited volumes, research papers, and public testimony.

Faculty Publications

Expanding the Economic Potential of Women Informal Workers

Chen, Martha. "Expanding the Economic Potential of Women Informal Workers." Secretariat, UN Secretary General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, December 2016.

Urban Livelihoods: Reviewing the Evidence in Support of the New Urban Agenda

Chen, Martha, Sally Roever, and Caroline Skinner. "Urban Livelihoods: Reviewing the Evidence in Support of the New Urban Agenda." Environment and Urbanization Brief No. 34 (November 2016).

Eliminating Legal Barriers from the Perspective of the Informal Economy

von Broembsen, Marlese, and Martha Chen. "Eliminating Legal Barriers from the Perspective of the Informal Economy." Secretariat, UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, September 2016.

Editorial: Urban Livelihoods: Reframing Theory and Policy

Chen, Martha, Sally Roever, and Caroline Skinner. "Editorial: Urban Livelihoods: Reframing Theory and Policy." Environment and Urbanization 28.2 (September 2016): 1-12.

Home-Based Workers and Cities

Chen, Martha and Shalini Sinha. "Home-Based Workers and Cities." Environment and Urbanization 28.2 (September 2016): 343-358.

Technology, Informal Workers and Cities: Insights from Ahmedabad (India), Durban (South Africa) and Lima (Peru)

Chen, Martha. "Technology, Informal Workers and Cities: Insights from Ahmedabad (India), Durban (South Africa) and Lima (Peru)." Environment and Urbanization 28.2 (September 2016): 405-422.

Leave No One Behind: A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment

Klugman, Jeni, Laura Tyson, and Panel and Deputy Panel Members of UN High Level Panel on Women's Economic Empowerment (including Martha Chen). "Leave No One Behind: A Call to Action for Gender Equality and Women's Economic Empowerment." Secretariat, UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, September 2016.

The Informal Economy: Recent Trends, Future Directions

Chen, Martha. "The Informal Economy: Recent Trends, Future Directions." New Solutions 26 (August 2016): 2.

The Urban Informal Economy: Towards More Inclusive Cities

Chen, Martha. "The Urban Informal Economy: Towards More Inclusive Cities." Urbanet, August 2016.

A Guide to Obtaining Data on Types of Informal Workers in Official Statistics

Vanek, Joann, Martha Chen, and Govindan Raveendran. "A Guide to Obtaining Data on Types of Informal Workers in Official Statistics." WIEGO Statistical Brief No. 8, May 2015.

Legal Reforms for the Self-Employed: Three Urban Cases

Chen, Martha, Roopa Madhav, and Kaplana Sharma. "Legal Reforms for the Self-Employed: Three Urban Cases." The Indian Journal of Industrial Relations 50.1 (July 2014): 133-150.

Statistics on the Informal Economy: Definitions, Regional Estimates & Challenges

Chen, Martha. "Statistics on the Informal Economy: Definitions, Regional Estimates & Challenges." WIEGO Working Paper (Statistics) No. 2, April 2014.

Informal Economy Monitoring Study Sector Report: Home-Based Workers

Chen, Martha. "Informal Economy Monitoring Study Sector Report: Home-Based Workers." Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing, April 2014.

Urban Employment in India: Recent Trends and Patterns

Chen, Martha, and Govindan Raveendran. "Urban Employment in India: Recent Trends and Patterns." WIEGO Working Paper No. 7, January 2014.

Women in Informal Employment

Chen, Martha. "Women in Informal Employment." Toolkit: Learning and Working in the Informal Economy. Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit, 2014.

Women and the Informal Economy: Economic Actors and Global Leaders

Chen, Martha. "Women and the Informal Economy: Economic Actors and Global Leaders." Women in the Global Economy: Leading Social Change. Ed. Trish Tierney. Institute of International Education Foundation, 2013.

Informal Employment Revisited: Theories, Data,
and Policies

Chen, Martha, and Joann Vanek. "Informal Employment Revisited: Theories, Data, and Policies." Indian Journal of Industrial Relations 48.3 (January 2013).

Self-Employed Women’s Association of India: A National Trade Union and International Role Model

Chen, Martha. "Self-Employed Women’s Association of India: A National Trade Union and International Role Model." Case Study for World Development Report 2013, World Bank, 2012.

The Informal Economy: Definitions, Theories and Policies

Chen, Martha. "The Informal Economy: Definitions, Theories and Policies." WIEGO Working Paper No. 1, August 2012.

The Informal Economy in Comparative Perspective

Chen, Martha. "The Informal Economy in Comparative Perspective." A Handbook of Economic Anthropology. Ed. James G. Carrier. Edward Elgar Pub, 2012.

Urban Employment in India: Recent Trends and Future Prospects

Chen, Martha. "Urban Employment in India: Recent Trends and Future Prospects." MARGIN—The Journal of Applied Economic Research 6.2 (2012).

Urban India 2011: Evidence

Chen, Martha and G. Raveendran. Urban India 2011: Evidence. Indian Institute for Human Settlements, 2011.

Recognizing Domestic Workers, Regulating Domestic Work: Conceptual, Measurement, and Regulatory Challenges

Chen, Martha. "Recognizing Domestic Workers, Regulating Domestic Work: Conceptual, Measurement, and Regulatory Challenges." Canadian Journal of Women and the Law/Revue Femmes et Droit 23.1 (April 2011): 167-184.

Globalization and Home-Based Workers

Carr, Marilyn, Martha Alter Chen, and Jane Tate. "Globalization and Home-Based Workers." Feminist Economics 6.3 (December 2010): 123-142.

Informality, Poverty, and Gender in the Global South

Chen, Martha. "Informality, Poverty, and Gender in the Global South." The International Handbook Of Gender And Poverty. Ed. Sylvia Chant. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010.

The Self-Employed Women’s Association

Chen, Martha. "The Self-Employed Women’s Association." Social Movements II: Concerns of Equity and Security. Ed. T. K. Oommen. Oxford University Press, December 2009.

Informal Sector and Social Policy: Compendium of Personal and Technical Reflections. Cornell-SEWA-WIEGO Exposure and Dialogue Program

Bali, Namrata, Kaushik Basu, Suman Bery, Haroon Bhorat, Françoise Carré, Martha Chen, Gary Fields, Ravi Kanbur, Santiago Levy, Francie Lund, Jeemol Unni and Imraan Valodia. "Informal Sector and Social Policy: Compendium of Personal and Technical Reflections. Cornell-SEWA-WIEGO Exposure and Dialogue Program." WIEGO, March 2009.

Informality in South Asia: A Review

Chen, Martha, and Donna Doane. "Informality in South Asia: A Review." WIEGO Working Paper No. 4, September 2008.

Informal Economies

Chen, Martha. "Informal Economies." International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies. Ed. Stewart Clegg and James R. Bailey. Sage, 2008.

Informality and Social Protection: Theories and Realities

Chen, Martha. "Informality and Social Protection: Theories and Realities." IDS Bulletin 39.2 (May 2008): 18-27.

Women and Informality: A Global Picture, the Global Movement

Chen, Martha. "Women and Informality: A Global Picture, the Global Movement." SAIS Review 21.1 (Winter-Spring 2001): 71-82.

Counting the Invisible Workforce: The Case of Homebased Workers

Chen, Martha, Jennefer Sebstad, and Lesley O'Connell. "Counting the Invisible Workforce: The Case of Homebased Workers." World Development 27.3 (March 1999): 603-610.