The #GrowthAcademy25 conference is officially underway! Ufuk Akcigit and Somik Lall just launched Day 1 with inspiring opening remarks. Follow along right here for live updates, key insights, and standout moments from speakers throughout the week.

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Indermit Gill, Chief Economist of the World Bank, discusses the “Middle Income Trap”—highlighting how developing economies can break stagnation and achieve real growth. #MiddleIncomeTrap

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Philippe Aghion shares insights on the “Economics of Creative Destruction”—how the dynamic force of innovation can address countries’ biggest challenges. Can new ideas spark real change? #Innovation

#GrowthAcademy25: Day 1 ended with a fireside discussion with HE بندر إبراهيم الخريف Bandar Alkhorayef, Minister of Industry & Mineral Resources of Saudi Arabia, Ufuk Akcigit of UChicago Economics and Somik Lall of @worldbank. Key insights on industry and regional development.  Follow for Day 2 updates!

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Lars Peter Hansen (UChicago Economics) examines “Uncertainty, Social Valuation, and Climate Change Policy”—a deep dive into how different types of uncertainty shape the sense of urgency and direction of climate action. #Uncertainty

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Prof. Fabrizio Zilibotti (Yale Department of Economics) delves into “Creative Destruction and Distance to Frontier: Implications for Emerging Economies"—exploring how firm dynamics shapes economic growth in developing nations. #DevelopingEconomies

HE بندر إبراهيم الخريف Bandar Alkhorayef reflects on his visit to The University of Chicago and the #GrowthAcademy25 (original post in Arabic):

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Prof. James Heckman (UChicago Economics) presents on global fertility trends. Key insights on family, education, and economic opportunity. #HumanDevelopment

#GrowthAcademy25 Day 2 ended with Furkan Kılıç (UChicago Economics), Christian Posso (Christian M. Posso) (Banco República 🇨🇴) and Seyit Mümin Cilasun (TED Üniversitesi) sharing insights from a research collaboration that began at the inaugural Growth Academy in 2024. #EconomicResearch

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Pinelopi Goldberg introduces “The Global Gender Distortions Index”—showing how the GGDI helps pinpoint and measure hidden barriers for understanding gender gaps in labor markets. Yale Economic Growth Center #GenderEconomics

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Susan Athey (Stanford Graduate School of Business) explores AI's applications for economies as well as timely policy responses to AI's labor market disruptions in her lecture “AI and The New Economy”. #AIPolicy

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Brent Neiman (Chicago Booth) unpacks "Global Capital Allocation" and the forces that define “who owns what” around the world. #GlobalCapital

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Prof. Michael Greenstone (Energy Policy Institute at UChicago) discusses "The Economics of the Global Energy Challenge," emphasizing how nations must balance reliable energy, clean air, and climate goals—and the importance of pricing energy’s true costs. #EnergyEcon

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25, Day 4: @somikcities (IEG - WB Group) builds on yesterday's energy crisis session with "Energy, Emissions, and Creative Destruction", outlining the need for global energy efficiency and cooperation. #EnergyEfficiency

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Ufuk Akcigit (UChicago Economics) digs deep into smart economic growth concepts from the IEG - WB Group's 2024 World Development Report, The Middle-Income Trap. #Ideas4Impact

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Chang-Tai Hsieh (Chicago Booth) compares the behavior of top conglomerates across various countries his lecture "Scale vs. Scope". #GlobalBusiness

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: James Evans (UChicago Social Sciences) explores how countries are advancing in the AI landscape, highlighting their diverse strategies and contributions to global AI leadership. #AIleadership

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: Innovation needs venture capital—but policy is the wild card. Josh Lerner (Harvard Business School) explains why fueling startup ecosystems takes smart investment and even smarter governance in "Growing Entrepreneurial Clusters and Innovation". #GlobalVenture

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: “Can AI Transform Public Service Delivery?” Michael Kremer (Development Innovation Lab) walks through the possibilities of developing more efficient public services worldwide. #PublicServiceAI

LIVE at #GrowthAcademy25: "The Marshall Plan: Then and Now". What happened during postwar Europe’s recovery—and what lessons can we draw for growth today? Joel Mokyr (Northwestern Economics) highlights strategies, policies, and attitudes that shaped a turning point in #EconomicHistory.