2026: 15th Dutch Development Economics Network Workshop

The fifteenth workshop, hosted by Radboud University Nijmegen.
Workshop
Event date

March 12, 2026

Radboud University logo

Radboud University
Nijmegen

When
12–13 March 2026

Where
Elinor Ostromgebouw, Heyendaalseweg 141, 6525 AJ Nijmegen

Download the programme

2 days 10 papers Roundtable Radboud Special

Radboud University hosted the fifteenth edition in the Elinor Ostromgebouw — a building named for the economist of the commons. After an official opening by Saskia Lavrijssen, ten papers ran from a choice framework for empirical research design and hiring women in Bangladesh to firms facing uncertainty in Uganda, social capital and gender equality, newborn health during Covid-19, structural change in India, colonial institutional transfer, affirmative action and inequality in climate preferences.

Two additions broadened the programme: a Radboud Special on heritage diets by Quirijn de Mast of Radboudumc, and a roundtable on the research needs of development practice, with IPA, SNV, HKV, FMO, CARE and IOB. It was also the first workshop with Erasmus University Rotterdam among the co-organizing universities, bringing the network to eight.

The local organizer was Natascha Wagner. The workshop was jointly organized and co-sponsored by the network and its participating universities, represented by their node coordinators: Arjun Bedi (Erasmus), Mark Treurniet (Groningen), Natascha Wagner (Radboud), Patricio Dalton (Tilburg), Eleonora Nillesen (UNU-MERIT), Karlijn Morsink (Utrecht), Marc Witte (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and Francesco Cecchi (Wageningen).

Programme

Thursday 12 March

  • Saskia Lavrijssen, Radboud University — official welcome and opening
  • David Jackson, VU Amsterdam A Generalized Choice Framework for Empirical Research Design Discussant: Gaaitzen de Vries, University of Groningen
  • Lore Vandewalle, KU Leuven Hiring Women vs Hiring Men: Experimental Evidence on Workers and Firms in Bangladesh Discussant: Karlijn Morsink, Utrecht University
  • Kristina Czura, University of Groningen Gendered Access to Finance: Team Formation, Idea Quality, and Implementation Constraints Discussant: Matilde João Mota, Maastricht University
  • Imran Rasul, University College London Firm Responses to Uncertainty and Implications for Workers: Experimental Evidence from Uganda During the Pandemic Discussant: Margarita Mecheva, Erasmus University Rotterdam
  • Irene van Staveren, Erasmus University Rotterdam Does Social Capital Support Gender Equality? Discussant: Remco Oostendorp, VU Amsterdam
  • Jimena Pacheco, Utrecht University Covid-19 and Newborn and Child Health Discussant: Lisa van Dongen, Radboud University
  • Jonas Gathen, Tilburg University Inequality and the Dynamics of Growth: Evidence from 25 Years of Structural Change in India Discussant: Peter Lanjouw, VU Amsterdam
  • Radboud Special Quirijn de Mast, Radboudumc Heritage Diets

Friday 13 March

  • Robbert Maseland, Radboud University Long Live the Nigerian-Fijian Empire! Persistent Effects of Horizontal Institutional Transfer in the Late British Empire Discussant: Maarten Voors, Wageningen University
  • Roundtable Research Needs in Development Collaboration: Bridging Research and Practice With Paul Adams (IPA), John Belt (SNV), Dorien Lugt (HKV), Thijs Viertelhauzen (FMO), Josee Koch (CARE) and Joes de Natris / Blanca Beuving (IOB)
  • Ritika Gupta, Wageningen University Equity Conundrum: Unintended Consequences of College-Level Affirmative Action on the Labor Market Discussant: Patricio Dalton, Tilburg University
  • Bruno Martorano, Maastricht University Does Inequality Shape Preferences for Climate Policies and Climate Action? Discussant: Jenny Aker, Wageningen University
  • Natascha Wagner, Radboud University — closing remarks