Research in the field of development and environmental economics is the foundation that all activities within the EfD network emanate from. EfD’s collaborative programs provide unique platforms for applied cross-country research and policy analysis.

2023 started with the implementation of 14 projects that were approved by the EfD Research Committee in 2022. Nine of those were multi-country and synthesis studies on poverty-gender-related environmental research. Five focused on enhancing the capacity of the Sub-Saharan African centers. Two were awarded to EfD Early Career Fellows. The projects had an equal number of male and female principal investigators. The themes of the projects were multi-faceted: carbon pricing, energy transition, water, gender, fisheries, climate change, agriculture, health, and sustainable consumption.

The research committee approved 17 projects in 2023 for implementation in 2024 

on themes, similar to previous years but with an increased emphasis on carbon pricing, energy transition, gender, and agriculture. 

EfD researchers had 277 peer-reviewed papers published in science journals in 2023 (231 in 2022). Examples of journals include the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Nature, Global Environmental Change, and World Development. They also published 17 EfD Discussion papers (20 in 2022), as well as book chapters, reports, and other publications. 

60 researchers within the EfD network concluded a comprehensive project financed by Canadian IDRC, aimed at developing a research agenda to support a low-carbon transition and gender equity in the Global South (see page 32). A global COVID-19 panel survey was conducted in seven EfD countries and has resulted in several papers (see page 34). 

EfD’s Collaborative Programs continued to showcase the benefits of combining expertise at the centers and partner institutions. The Forest Collaborative organized a peer-learning project in which researchers and policymakers from Ghana, Nigeria, and Uganda shared experiences and learned from researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders involved in community forest management in Nepal and Ethiopia. 

The Sustainable Energy Transition Initiative (SETI) teamed up with the Inclusive Green Economy in Practice program to provide the participants in the program with the most up-to-date expertise on this year’s theme – sustainable energy transition. 

The most high-profile research event during the year is, however, the EfD Annual Meeting, which in 2023 took place in Ghana. Participants from 25 countries attended a comprehensive program with 130 academic presentations and seven keynote speeches, training sessions, and much more.