About
Institutional Reforms for Transformation, Inclusion, and Sustainability

Economic transformation, inclusive growth, and environmental sustainability are core 21st century development challenges in both low- and middle-income countries. Every country has its own institutional history with an evolving balance between the state and the market over time. Regardless of the basic conception of the role of the state in the development process, countries must constantly push institutional reforms as they move from low- to middle- to high-income status. While each country is unique in its development path, countries—and the development community at large—can benefit greatly by sharing experiences of reform and development in order to avoid pitfalls and identify opportunities for future success. This conference aims to identify what works, what could work, what is scalable, and what is transferable in institutional reform.

Key topics for presentation and debate will include: comparative development strategies and experiences of institutional reform; state owned enterprises and their role/reform; privatization and regulation; the role and regulation of the financial system in resource mobilization and allocation; labour market policies for inclusive growth; decentralization and the balance between central and local authorities; agriculture, structural transformation, and development; governance and management of public finances; energy and infrastructure for environmental sustainability; and legal reform, implementation, and enforcement.

The capital of Vietnam, Hanoi, will be the conference venue. Vietnam has in recent decades made great strides in institutional reform, associated with significant growth and rapid poverty reduction. Building on its past successes, Vietnam, like many countries in the region and elsewhere, is actively considering how to best manage new and emerging challenges in institutional reform and policy formulation. The Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM), which has just completed 35-years of operation, is a leading Vietnamese economic policy think tank; and CIEM’s research work and policy recommendations have, over the years, proven highly instrumental in guiding economic planning and policy making in Vietnam.

UNU-WIDER has long experience in designing and implementing large scale international conferences (see for example IGA). The two day conference will include three keynote speakers, a final panel, and four parallel sessions with invited speakers. Each parallel session will be chaired by an experienced researcher or policymaker. They will provide a brief scene setting/contextual introduction to be followed by three presentations on each sub-theme. Other participants will include researchers and policymakers from a wide range of countries, including members of UNU-WIDER’s global network of researchers, as well as representatives from both new and traditional donors.