ABOUT THE GROWTH ACADEMY
The Growth Academy is an ever-expanding program dedicated to fostering economic insight aand innovation through dynamic learning experiences. designed for researchers and policymakers from middle-income countries concerned with persistent underdevelopment and the challenges of the middle-income trap. A collaboration between the University of Chicago’s Becker Friedman Institute and the World Bank, the program seeks to advance technical knowledge and promote evidence-based solutions by applying cutting-edge analytical tools to real-world growth policy issues.
GROWTH ACADEMY HIGHLIGHTS
Elevate your strategy with evidence based solutions designed to drive measurable results.
Research real-world projects, contributing to an international effort to develop sustainable policies focused on economic growth.
Growth Academy offers participants to reflect and learn in a fast-paced interactive environment, asking important questions.
THE WORLD DEVELOPMENT REPORT
Middle-income countries today account for nearly one-third of global GDP and are home to 75% of the world’s population. Since the 1990s, they have made remarkable progress in reducing poverty, giving the impression of a steady upward trajectory. Yet a closer look reveals a more sobering reality: over 100 countries are aiming for high-income status, but only a small subset has achieved meaningful gains in recent decades.
Today, the growth challenge for middle-income countries is more complex than ever. Rising debt burdens, demographic shifts, tightening trade conditions, and the pressures of climate transition are straining development pathways. The urgent shift to clean energy, while critical, constrains short-term growth options. For the nearly six billion people living in these economies, the goal of reaching high-income status within a generation is increasingly uncertain, with GDP per capita still far below that of advanced economies.
Economic growth is never easy—but for middle-income countries, it is slower, harder, and more structurally constrained. How can they break free from the so-called middle-income trap? What reforms in education, talent allocation, institutional strength, and energy strategy are most vital? The Growth Academy offers a space to confront these questions, and to reimagine policy grounded in the realities of each country’s unique development path.
GROWTH ACADEMY 2024 SPEAKERS
Panel Discussion
Featuring: Indermit Gil (Chief Economist of the World Bank) + Philippe Aghion (Collège de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics). Moderated by: Ufuk Akcigit (University of Chicago).
Somik V. Lall
Senior Adviser to the Chief Economist of the World Bank
The World Bank Group
“The Middle Income Trap“ (Video) & “Energy, Emissions, and Creative Destruction” (Slides)
Maria Marta Ferreyra
Senior Economist
The World Bank Group
“Education for Innovation and Growth” (Video)
Josh Lerner
Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking
Harvard Business School
“Growing Enterpreneruial Clusters” (Slides)
Indermit Gill
Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics
The World Bank Group
“The Middle Income Trap” (Slides)
Philippe Aghion
Collège de France, INSEAD, and the London School of Economics
“The Power of Creative Destruction“ (Slides)
Fabrizio Zilibotti
Tuntex Professor of International and Development Economics
Yale University
“Creative Destruction and
Distance to Frontier: Implications for Emerging Economies” (Slides)
Chad Syverson
George C. Tiao Distinguished Service Professor
The University of Chicago
“Productivity and Reallocation” (Sides)
Norman Loayza
Director; Global Indicators Group; Development Economics
The World Bank Group
“Economic Growth Through Productivity, Transformation and Resilience: A Practitioners’ Perspective“ (Video)
Ekaterina Vostroknutova
Lead Economist, Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice
The World Bank Group
“Policies to Promote Enterprise and Discipline Incumbents“ (Video)
Forhad Shilpi
Senior Economist; Development Economics
The World Bank Group
“Strengthening creation and weakening preservation: Social mobility and talent development in MICs” (Video)
William Maloney
Chief Economist; Latin America and Caribbean
The World Bank Group
Tatjana Kleinberg
Economist; Development Economics Vice-Presidency
The World Bank Group
“Allocating Talent Efficiently to Unlock Economic Development” (Video)
Roberto N. Fattal Jaef
Senior Economist: Development Economics
The World Bank Group
“Distortions and Firm Dynamics in Middle-Income Countries“ (Video)
Franziska Ohnsorge
Chief Economist, South Asia Region
The World Bank Group
“Growth Challenges in South Asia” (Video)
Andrew Toole
Chief Economist
United States Patent and Trademark Office
Maria Vagliasindi
Lead Economist, Infrastructure Vice-Presidency
The World Bank Group
“Challenges & Opportunities of the Energy Transition for Middle Income Countries” (Video)
Katherine Stapleton
Economist; Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice
The World Bank Group
Michael Greenstone
The Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College
University of Chicago
John List
Kenneth C. Griffin Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College
University of Chicago
Joel Mokyr
Robert H. Strotz Professor
Northwestern University
James Heckman
The Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and the College
The University of Chicago
“How the Welfare State Affects Inequality and Social Mobility: A Comparison of the U.S. and Denmark“
Michael Kremer
University Professor in Economics and the College and the Harris School of Public Policy
The University of Chicago
James Evans
Max Palevsky Professor, Department of Sociology; Faculty Director, Masters in Computational Social Science Program
The University of Chicago
“The Paradox of Innovation Institutions: Designing Flexible Ecosystems that Accelerate Discovery, Invention, and Growth“
