Empowerment Lab at CID :: Research :: Center for International Development at Harvard University

The Empowerment Lab at CID

About

Overview

Inclusion into a market economy is a crucial component of economic welfare, and large portions of the populations in the U.S. and developing countries lack productive access to markets (such as banking, insurance, and healthcare). For most of the world, market failures results in a scarcity of appropriate products and services either because of prohibitive fixed costs involved in their delivery or because they lack access to other complementary markets.
To further global research on this subject, the Center for International Development, with support from the MPOWER Foundation, has launched the Empowerment Lab. The Empowerment Lab will engage in research and activities to understand what limits the reach of markets, and the impact of improved access to key markets. It will examine why research and development (R&D) and product innovation are skewed toward more affluent segments; policy barriers to extending markets to excluded populations; how the availability to fundamental services such as water, electricity, and transportation affect access to markets; and how to encourage local entrepreneurship to develop appropriate products and services.
As part of the search for sustainable solutions, the Empowerment Lab partner with organizations and private sector firms to make valuable data available to expand the space of what can be researched.

Why the Empowerment Lab?

When Adam Smith wrote "The Wealth of Nations" in 1776, the richest country in the world was four times richer than the poorest country. Today, the United States is more than 60 times richer than Malawi or Sierra Leone. Inequality between countries has been on the rise for the past 200 years, creating disparities in income and the things that go with it-like health, education, quality of life, and people's ability to control their own destinies.

Much of this divergence can be explained by changes in technology, as people find new and better ways to do old things or engage in new activities altogether. As income levels have grown farther apart, these innovations have become less and less useful for those who are left behind. Washing machines, TV and refrigerators have little value for those without running water and electricity; e-commerce and on-line banking are of little value for those without access to the internet or the banking system.

Raising the living standard of people in developing countries requires more than just replicating what works somewhere else-it demands innovations designed with context in mind. Beyond simply looking to the developing world for new consumers, truly successful innovations will provide tools that allow people to access markets and the possibilities that go with them. Financial markets are one of these key markets, since they allow people to survive lean times, take risks, and build new ventures.

The Empowerment Lab at the Center for International Development promotes innovations that extend the reach of markets in developing countries. In partnership with the world's leading policy makers, business leaders, and development experts, the Empowerment Lab engages in research and activities to understand what limits the reach of markets and what interventions might enable us to overcome those obstacles. By systematically examining what works and what doesn't, the Empowerment Lab identifies innovations that enable individuals and communities to take control and improve their own lives.