Willa Friedman

IDEA grew to 3,800+ by word of mouth — and there are colleagues who haven't heard yet. We especially want to reach PhD students and early-career researchers, and economists across the Global South. Know someone who belongs here? Tag them in the replies. 🌍

Looking forward to seeing how development economics grows with new ideas from such a wide group, to be amplified on a global stage! Share widely, especially if you know someone with fresh ideas to contribute! idea.devecon.org @ideadevecon

Three weeks ago, IDEA opened its doors to development economists everywhere. The response has been extraordinary: 3,700+ scholars from 134 countries have joined the community. See who's taking shape — where we are, where we work: link in first reply 🌍

What makes IDEA distinctive is who's in it. 40% of our members are based in low- and middle-income countries — from Nigeria and Kenya to Pakistan, the Philippines, Colombia, and beyond. A professional home built for development economists everywhere. Link in first reply 🔗🌍

Why better school information doesn't always boost enrolment. Last week on VoxDev, K@kfajayi (@CGDev), @willafriedman (@UHouston) and @ProfALucas (University of Delaware) outlined research on providing better information about schools in Ghana: voxdev.org/topic/educatio…

🆕 Why better school information doesn't always boost enrolment. Today on VoxDev, @kfajayi (@CGDev), @willafriedman (@UHouston) and @ProfALucas (University of Delaware) outline research on providing better information about schools in Ghana: voxdev.org/topic/educatio…

@OwenOzier writes about @ideadevecon on @CGDev's blog. cgdev.org/blog/introduci…

Two days in, 2,671 development economists from 126 countries have joined @ideadevecon! @owenozier lays out why development economics needed a global home. Now on the @CGDev blog. Read it, then add your name: idea.devecon.org 🌍 cgdev.org/blog/introduci…

are you even into dev econ if your TL hasnt been entirely @ideadevecon in the last 24 hours

Meet the people building IDEA! Our elected Board spans six continents... development economists from around the world, giving the field its first global, open, democratically governed professional home. This is what a global community looks like! Follow @ideadevecon!

Meet IDEA’s board of directors 😀 Excited and honored to be part of this adventure! @ideadevecon @deanyang @DinaPomeranz @OwenOzier @GChiovelli @Prof_Nishith_P @emily_beam @Hyderabadi_chai @AsieduEddie @EdmondsEric @willafriedman @ashaniamar

Help is fill in the map!

Development economists now have a professional home! IDEA Board member (& North America Rep) Owen Ozier lays out the case for @ideadevecon on the World Bank's Development Impact blog, the most-read blog in the field for 15 years. Read it, then join us! blogs.worldbank.org/en/impactevalu…

A real vote of confidence: @CEGA_UC is backing IDEA. Their CIDR work, elevating scholars in low- and middle-income countries, is exactly the mission IDEA exists to serve. This is what the field looks like when we build the infrastructure together! 🌍

Development economics finally has a global professional home. Today we launch @ideadevecon ... Open to every development economist, everywhere. Join the community: idea.devecon.org Please share 🌍

@ideadevecon It's happening! Come join!

What is IDEA?

Welcome to IDEA!

Come join!

🆕Hot off the press! The January 2026 issue featuring Editor’s Choice ‘When Information is Not Enough: Evidence from a Centralised School Choice System’ by Kehinde F Ajayi, @willafriedman, @ProfALucas @RoyalEconSoc @OxfordJournals #econtwitter 👉bit.ly/4ql3cGD