Ranil Dissanayake
@scepticalranil.bsky.social
I think you'll find it's a little more complicated than that. "Office-talking monster" - my 4 year old. Deputy Chief Economist (FCDO), DPhil (BSG).
Really looking forward to reading this update.
Issue 4 (4!) of our VoxDevLit on Training Entrepreneurs is out now.
This update includes interesting new evidence on longer-term impacts and the use of generative AI in training.
Everything you need to know on this topic will always be at this link and up to date ⤵️
This update includes interesting new evidence on longer-term impacts and the use of generative AI in training.
Everything you need to know on this topic will always be at this link and up to date ⤵️
What have we learned about training entrepreneurs?
Issue 4 of our VoxDevLit on Training Entrepreneurs by @dmckenzie.bsky.social, Christopher Woodruff & Co-Editors is out now!➡️ voxdev.org/voxdevlit/tr...
Today's podcast covers the update➡️ voxdev.org/topic/firms/...
Issue 4 of our VoxDevLit on Training Entrepreneurs by @dmckenzie.bsky.social, Christopher Woodruff & Co-Editors is out now!➡️ voxdev.org/voxdevlit/tr...
Today's podcast covers the update➡️ voxdev.org/topic/firms/...
November 5, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Really looking forward to reading this update.
This is going to bankrupt me
September 27, 2025 at 7:43 PM
This is going to bankrupt me
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
📢 Join our next Active Bystander Training for economists!
🗓️ 18 Nov 2025 | 09:30–11:00 | Online
Learn tools for safe, effective intervention & fostering an inclusive profession.
👉 Register: [email protected]
🔗 bit.ly/466tIur
#Economics #EDI #EconSky
🗓️ 18 Nov 2025 | 09:30–11:00 | Online
Learn tools for safe, effective intervention & fostering an inclusive profession.
👉 Register: [email protected]
🔗 bit.ly/466tIur
#Economics #EDI #EconSky
September 10, 2025 at 8:01 AM
📢 Join our next Active Bystander Training for economists!
🗓️ 18 Nov 2025 | 09:30–11:00 | Online
Learn tools for safe, effective intervention & fostering an inclusive profession.
👉 Register: [email protected]
🔗 bit.ly/466tIur
#Economics #EDI #EconSky
🗓️ 18 Nov 2025 | 09:30–11:00 | Online
Learn tools for safe, effective intervention & fostering an inclusive profession.
👉 Register: [email protected]
🔗 bit.ly/466tIur
#Economics #EDI #EconSky
Tolstoy and his confidante (a lizard).
From Gorky’s Fragments from My Diary
From Gorky’s Fragments from My Diary
September 15, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Tolstoy and his confidante (a lizard).
From Gorky’s Fragments from My Diary
From Gorky’s Fragments from My Diary
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
What is development economics?
I find it more and more difficult to define what development economics actually is.
So, for this @voxdev.bsky.social blog, I asked development economists how they define development economics: voxdev.org/topic/what-d...
I find it more and more difficult to define what development economics actually is.
So, for this @voxdev.bsky.social blog, I asked development economists how they define development economics: voxdev.org/topic/what-d...
What is development economics?
I asked development economists for their definitions of development economics.
voxdev.org
August 21, 2025 at 2:32 PM
What is development economics?
I find it more and more difficult to define what development economics actually is.
So, for this @voxdev.bsky.social blog, I asked development economists how they define development economics: voxdev.org/topic/what-d...
I find it more and more difficult to define what development economics actually is.
So, for this @voxdev.bsky.social blog, I asked development economists how they define development economics: voxdev.org/topic/what-d...
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
This is a crucial point. Still relatively few economists are explicitly trained on this point, and too many econ papers show it.
Say you’ve got very good causal IDENTIFICATION. Can you say you have causality, can make a causal general claim, and can say what “THE causal effect” is?
NO
We explain why in new article at Journal of Causal Inference.
www.degruyter.com/document/doi...
NO
We explain why in new article at Journal of Causal Inference.
www.degruyter.com/document/doi...
The necessity of construct and external validity for deductive causal inference
The Credibility Revolution advances internally valid research designs intended to identify causal effects from quantitative data. The ensuing emphasis on internal validity, however, has enabled a negl...
www.degruyter.com
August 14, 2025 at 1:14 PM
This is a crucial point. Still relatively few economists are explicitly trained on this point, and too many econ papers show it.
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
When thinking about how to get out of this mess we need to keep in mind 'asymmetric causation'. Knowing what caused a problem doesn't tell you how to solve it. The example that brought the point home to me was: If you're run over by a steamroller, the cure is not to have it reverse back over you
August 5, 2025 at 7:54 AM
When thinking about how to get out of this mess we need to keep in mind 'asymmetric causation'. Knowing what caused a problem doesn't tell you how to solve it. The example that brought the point home to me was: If you're run over by a steamroller, the cure is not to have it reverse back over you
A wine that makes you think, @jowolff.bsky.social
July 31, 2025 at 10:48 AM
A wine that makes you think, @jowolff.bsky.social
This is a truly mad review of Perrow's classic Complex Organizations:
July 30, 2025 at 7:42 PM
This is a truly mad review of Perrow's classic Complex Organizations:
New entrant to the J-Rock song name hall of fame
July 29, 2025 at 4:19 PM
New entrant to the J-Rock song name hall of fame
Some people are cool because they’re good at something, and in others it’s just completely innate to their bearing. Jadeja is the latter. He could be a clerk in the bank and he’d be the coolest bank clerk in history.
July 27, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Some people are cool because they’re good at something, and in others it’s just completely innate to their bearing. Jadeja is the latter. He could be a clerk in the bank and he’d be the coolest bank clerk in history.
Bedtime reading. I’m three pages into Apology and have already written the margin note “not just wrong but dangerously wrong.” He may yet convince me otherwise, mind.
July 22, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Bedtime reading. I’m three pages into Apology and have already written the margin note “not just wrong but dangerously wrong.” He may yet convince me otherwise, mind.
Japanese punk bands have the coolest song names
June 10, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Japanese punk bands have the coolest song names
help I'm under attack
May 30, 2025 at 12:57 PM
help I'm under attack
Today is the ten year anniversary of the fuckery tweet. Yes, the Lakers were knocked out in the first round, but this year, aged 40, LeBron James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. The fuckery shows no signs of abating.
May 25, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Today is the ten year anniversary of the fuckery tweet. Yes, the Lakers were knocked out in the first round, but this year, aged 40, LeBron James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. The fuckery shows no signs of abating.
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
Took me over two years, but I have finally found my way to @cgdev.org’s London offices. Looking forward to reuniting with my former CGD colleague @scepticalranil.bsky.social and former WB colleague Sam Asher at an event gender equality tomorrow at RHUL.
May 15, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Took me over two years, but I have finally found my way to @cgdev.org’s London offices. Looking forward to reuniting with my former CGD colleague @scepticalranil.bsky.social and former WB colleague Sam Asher at an event gender equality tomorrow at RHUL.
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
Looking forward to presenting in this World Bank webinar tomorrow (5/13) at 9 am ET.
Honored to moderate this discussion on women’s agency and the power of group models. Join us tomorrow to learn more about what shapes women’s decision-making, how groups improve outcomes for women and girls, and why these insights should influence measurement, programming, and future research.
May 13, 2025 at 2:41 PM
Looking forward to presenting in this World Bank webinar tomorrow (5/13) at 9 am ET.
Tom Mboya sailing close to an IV here, writing in the 1960s
May 1, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Tom Mboya sailing close to an IV here, writing in the 1960s
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
Bought this in 1996 in Nairobi, and getting down to reading it only now, not quite thirty years. What an excellent dedication, quite in tune with Mboya’s character.
April 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Bought this in 1996 in Nairobi, and getting down to reading it only now, not quite thirty years. What an excellent dedication, quite in tune with Mboya’s character.
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
I'm reminded of Heather Sarsons' work showing that female surgeons experience a career hit after a medical mistake, but male surgeons don't.
Doctors judge female surgeons more harshly when patients die
And have a rosier view of male surgeons’ abilities when things go well
www.economist.com
April 19, 2025 at 11:46 AM
I'm reminded of Heather Sarsons' work showing that female surgeons experience a career hit after a medical mistake, but male surgeons don't.
My son requested I ask the internet if owls have noses. AI not exactly covering itself with glory here.
April 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
My son requested I ask the internet if owls have noses. AI not exactly covering itself with glory here.
Reposted by Ranil Dissanayake
now *this* is the anecdote of the day
April 12, 2025 at 9:02 AM
now *this* is the anecdote of the day