Private Sector Development Research Network

Background

There is little doubt that progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require investments to grow private enterprise in low and lower middle-income countries (LLMICs) in order to create opportunities for, and provide services to, the poor and other under-served groups. But the behavior of private firms and markets in these countries, and their contributions to sustainable development, are not well understood. In which enterprises is investment most socially beneficial, and how can we obtain evidence of those benefits? In which ways can markets and firms make a difference at a scale that substantially reduces poverty? This conference offers an opportunity to bring together staff of Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) and donor agencies involved in private sector development, with academics who study private firms and markets from the fields of economics (such as industrial organization, international trade and investment), finance, business and development studies.

Topics

The first Annual Conference of the Private Sector Development Research Network focuses on inclusive firms and markets and considers questions around characteristics of inclusive business, ways to measure impact, and ways to support inclusion by a range of actors.

The questions of interest focus on two key actors – the private sector and development finance institutions – and aim for research that contributes with actionable insights on the ways businesses affect inclusion, either proactively or not, and the ways development finance institutions and other actors can promote inclusion through private sector activity.

Conference Committee

• Paddy Carter, CDC Group
• Neil Gregory, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Adnan Khan, International Growth Centre (IGC)
• Jonathan Leape, International Growth Centre (IGC)
• Nancy Lee, Center for Global Development (CGD)
• Alessandro Maffioli, IDB Invest
• Alastair McKechnie, Overseas Development Institute (ODI)
• Ugo Panizza, Graduate Institute's Centre for Finance and Development (CFD) and CEPR
• Alexandros Ragoussis, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
• Patricia Yanez-Pagans, IDB Invest