Reasoning about the role of the state in economic development in a post-Washington-Consensus-era is not a pure academic exercise. On the contrary, it is the practical policy dimension of this question, which led to an up-coming academic debate. Those were the policy-makers in LMIC and their experimentation with state interventions that triggered increased research to better understand and assess the shift in national economic policies. This also directly affects the practical work of international development agencies. External policy advisers experience a growing devaluation of former prescriptions and development assumptions based on neoliberal theory and face an increasing self-confidence and readiness of state policy-makers to shape economic processes more actively. Accordingly, there is a need and demand for new theories and concepts that can guide policy-makers and policy-advisors alike to plan and assess new economic policy instruments.

The research group is aware of the policy dimension and explicitly pursues the objective of generating beneficial and absorbable knowledge for international and domestic agencies. Therefore, the research team seeks to integrate active exchange with relevant actors from the very beginning of their work.  You may check our 'GEE Dialogue with Experts' workshop series to get more information on the policy dimension. Read More »