Michael Callen, Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and Noosheen Hashemi Visiting Fellow at the King Center, explores how conflict and institutional instability reshape the path to economic progress. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Afghanistan and beyond, Callen examines the hurdles of policy implementation when the landscape is in flux. He also discusses why the insights gained from fragile states are becoming vital for understanding institutional resilience in developed nations.

Callen's research focuses on development economics, political economy, and behavioral economics, with a primary emphasis on Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan. He serves as co-director of the State Capabilities Program and the lead academic for the Fragile States Initiative at the International Growth Centre. Additionally, he is the Scientific Director for Inclusion Economics – Nepal and a research associate at the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He also currently serves on the editorial boards of the Review of Economic Studies and the Journal of the European Economic Association, and is a co-editor at VoxDev.

Rachel Glennerster, President of the Center for Global Development (CGD), discusses the need for smarter, more cost-effective aid, especially in a time of shrinking budgets. Glennerster stresses the value of focusing aid on areas with proven high-impact returns, and the critical role of research and innovation. She also calls for communicating more clearly with the public to rebuild trust and support for global development.

Prior to joining CGD, Glennerster was an Associate Professor of Economics in the Division of Social Science at the University of Chicago. Glennerster previously served as Chief Economist at the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and the Department for International Development in the UK. From 2004 to 2017, she served as Executive Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Glennerster helped to establish “Deworm the World”, which has helped provide 1 billion deworming treatments to children worldwide, and played a pivotal role in establishing initiatives and providing advice to governments about the most effective education strategies. She also currently serves as the Chair of Teaching at the Right Level Africa (TaRL Africa).

Iqbal Singh Dhaliwal, the Global Executive Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), dives into the shifting landscape of global development as foreign aid faces cuts. He discusses how we can address the significant changes—through new coalitions and evidence-based solutions—and why strategic philanthropy is more crucial than ever.

Dhaliwal leads J-PAL's global strategy, research, and policy outreach across seven regional offices. He co-directs J-PAL South Asia and co-chairs the Partnership for AI Evidence, which identifies the most promising avenues for applying AI in development and climate policy and evaluating applications of AI. Under his leadership, J-PAL has expanded into new sectors, launched regional and country offices, and helped scale programs reaching over 600 million people.