Robert M. Townsend of MIT talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about development and the role of financial institutions in growth. Drawing on his research, particularly his surveys of households in Thailand, Townsend argues that both informal networks and arrangements and formal financial institutions...

Economist’s study shows how the poor in developing countries become wealthier. Peter Dizikes, MIT News Office January 10, 2011 For all the detailed tools developed to study finance in past decades, relatively few scholars have brought those methods to bear on a pressing social question: How do poor people...

The group of economics-focused scientists at the Computation Institute is dedicated to helping the economics community by building tools and providing computational resources that advance research in major areas such as Growth and Developmental Economics and Computational Economics. Economics is one...