Publications
BSC faculty, fellows, and affiliates regularly publish research in a wide range of academic and policy venues. These include books, book chapters, working papers, articles, cases, and reports. In addition, we have hundreds of blog posts that you can read.
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Featured BookBuilding State Capability: Evidence, Analysis, Action
This book provides evidence of the capability shortfalls that currently exist in many countries, identifies capability traps that hold many governments back, and describes a process that can be used to escape these traps called PDIA (Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation).
Featured Publications
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Tackling Learning Poverty in Sierra Leone’s Education System through the Lens of the PDIA
Guest blog by Irina Bilyalova, Orlando Carvajal, Vaiba Flomo, and Sonali Verma We were four students brought together by a shared interest in solving real-world problems. Three from the Harvard Kennedy School and one from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. One of us was from the United States; three of us were…
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Case: Using PDIA to Transform Waste Management in Amman
In early 2022, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) faced a growing waste crisis. Given its population of 4.5 million people generating approximately 3,000 tons of solid municipal waste daily, half of Jordan’s total, the city’s rapid growth had significantly outpaced its waste management infrastructure. In response to this challenge, a remarkable two-year transformation using Problem-Driven…
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Can Outsiders Help Build State Capability? Lessons from Ted Lasso
Gaps between potential and performance are common in states across the globe. This paper argues that these gaps represent differences in state capability, and compares Ted Lasso to how outside actors can impact that capability.
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Facilitating Learning and Discovery-oriented Industrial Policy in Albania
A case narrative recounting a problem-driven learning and discovery-oriented approach undertaken to reinvigorate a struggling sector in Albania in 2014.
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The Evolution of Export Sophistication in Costa Rica
In the 1980s, Costa Rica was a banana exporting nation that had tried to pursue other industries with little success. Following the arrival of the microprocessor giant Intel in 1997, Costa Rica saw significant growth, with real GDP per capita expanding over 20 percent from 1997 to 2004.
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Economic Discovery in a Small Firm | Part 1
This case study examines the challenges faced by Justin Mansfield, a partner in Powerhouse Clothing, one of Durban’s more successful clothing producer. In 2003, the nation’s largest clothes retailer threatened to terminate its contract with Powerhouse Clothing due to more desirable supplier options overseas. Faced with this problem, Justin solicited the advice of a local…
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Economic Discovery in a Small Firm | Part 2
Justin Barnes engaged with many companies working across Durban’s clothing sector and determined the sector could in fact be an efficient, world class competitor — and not a sector in decline. The challenge was to bring all the different capabilities together within supply chains, across the city, and between concerned actors in the public and…