Owen Barder
@owen.org
Economist. ex No10, Treasury, CGD, PxD. Former visiting Professor @ LSE. Development Drums podcast. Team GB triathlete age-grouper. Olympic volunteer. Feminist, internationalist. Set up the first UK Government website. Helped invent AMCs.
Reposted by Owen Barder
Frank Ramsey now on the wall along with the portraits of other former fellows of @kingscollege.bsky.social I am proud to have advocated for this recent addition
September 15, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Frank Ramsey now on the wall along with the portraits of other former fellows of @kingscollege.bsky.social I am proud to have advocated for this recent addition
Reposted by Owen Barder
How do people feel about the term "data-driven research"?
I hear it a lot, and - as an epidemiologist - it makes me cringe.
If your research is exploratory, then you can reasonably adopt a "data-driven" approach.
But for inferential research, I believe your analysis should by theory-driven.
I hear it a lot, and - as an epidemiologist - it makes me cringe.
If your research is exploratory, then you can reasonably adopt a "data-driven" approach.
But for inferential research, I believe your analysis should by theory-driven.
July 22, 2026 at 12:39 PM
How do people feel about the term "data-driven research"?
I hear it a lot, and - as an epidemiologist - it makes me cringe.
If your research is exploratory, then you can reasonably adopt a "data-driven" approach.
But for inferential research, I believe your analysis should by theory-driven.
I hear it a lot, and - as an epidemiologist - it makes me cringe.
If your research is exploratory, then you can reasonably adopt a "data-driven" approach.
But for inferential research, I believe your analysis should by theory-driven.
Fantastic use of AI.
Today we launch the first stable release of RegCheck: v1.0.0.
RegCheck makes it easier and quicker to compare study registrations to published papers for consistency - something we know is important in principle, but rarely done in practice.
A 🧵 on what's new:
regcheck.app
RegCheck makes it easier and quicker to compare study registrations to published papers for consistency - something we know is important in principle, but rarely done in practice.
A 🧵 on what's new:
regcheck.app
RegCheck
RegCheck is an AI tool to compare preregistrations with papers instantly.
regcheck.app
July 14, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Fantastic use of AI.
Reposted by Owen Barder
Still have a hard time wrapping my head around development economists continuing to pay money to the guy who has done probably more damage to international development than anyone else this century
I'm really disappointed that folks are still on X.
June 22, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Still have a hard time wrapping my head around development economists continuing to pay money to the guy who has done probably more damage to international development than anyone else this century
The population of Curacao is smaller than the population of Kingston Upon Thames. (Though tbf Kingston has given us Declan Rice and Luke Shaw...)
June 14, 2026 at 6:47 PM
The population of Curacao is smaller than the population of Kingston Upon Thames. (Though tbf Kingston has given us Declan Rice and Luke Shaw...)
Reposted by Owen Barder
We've launched In Development! It is aiming to be the New Yorker for global development.
We want to promote discourse on development without dogma - stories doing deep-dives into pressing development issues, backed up by evidence, argument, and experience.
Subscribe here: indevelopmentmag.com
We want to promote discourse on development without dogma - stories doing deep-dives into pressing development issues, backed up by evidence, argument, and experience.
Subscribe here: indevelopmentmag.com
In Development
evidence and argument for a developing world
indevelopmentmag.com
April 17, 2026 at 2:05 AM
We've launched In Development! It is aiming to be the New Yorker for global development.
We want to promote discourse on development without dogma - stories doing deep-dives into pressing development issues, backed up by evidence, argument, and experience.
Subscribe here: indevelopmentmag.com
We want to promote discourse on development without dogma - stories doing deep-dives into pressing development issues, backed up by evidence, argument, and experience.
Subscribe here: indevelopmentmag.com
Reposted by Owen Barder
I believe in the year 2026 that schools could offer their term/inset dates as calendar files and not PDFs on the website.
April 13, 2026 at 10:22 AM
I believe in the year 2026 that schools could offer their term/inset dates as calendar files and not PDFs on the website.
Why don't we ask the EU to put biometric registration terminals in the departure areas of UK aiports?
March 26, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Why don't we ask the EU to put biometric registration terminals in the departure areas of UK aiports?
Reposted by Owen Barder
GDS's big refresh of www.data.gov.uk is now live
"The home of UK public data to inform decisions and build services"
#govtech #datasharing #opendata -adjacent
"The home of UK public data to inform decisions and build services"
#govtech #datasharing #opendata -adjacent
March 24, 2026 at 3:30 PM
GDS's big refresh of www.data.gov.uk is now live
"The home of UK public data to inform decisions and build services"
#govtech #datasharing #opendata -adjacent
"The home of UK public data to inform decisions and build services"
#govtech #datasharing #opendata -adjacent
Reposted by Owen Barder
As aid budgets gets slashed & the US withdraws from global institutions, this is an excellent opportunity to finally bring in a non-American leader for WFP (and please stop with the plastic press releases...)
February 26, 2026 at 1:40 PM
As aid budgets gets slashed & the US withdraws from global institutions, this is an excellent opportunity to finally bring in a non-American leader for WFP (and please stop with the plastic press releases...)
My experience exactly. LLMs do not do data cleaning or organisation reliably. And it is troubling that they do not know they cannot do this.
So far the only use I have found for LLMs is vibe coding. Which is fine if you don't care about the security of your code.
So far the only use I have found for LLMs is vibe coding. Which is fine if you don't care about the security of your code.
Wow, that LLM just took care of that really messy data cleaning exercise in a few minutes that would have taken me a few hours of manual data grubbing.
...
...
... oh, it's all wrong.
...
...
... oh, it's all wrong.
a cartoon of a man holding a microphone with the words " once again i 've been had "
ALT: a cartoon of a man holding a microphone with the words " once again i 've been had "
media.tenor.com
February 4, 2026 at 2:34 PM
My experience exactly. LLMs do not do data cleaning or organisation reliably. And it is troubling that they do not know they cannot do this.
So far the only use I have found for LLMs is vibe coding. Which is fine if you don't care about the security of your code.
So far the only use I have found for LLMs is vibe coding. Which is fine if you don't care about the security of your code.
I suspect we are all going to need to read up on Akrotiri and Dhekelia - an example of a military base on an island (Cyprus) for which the military power (UK) has sovereignty.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotir...
www.cvce.eu/content/publ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotir...
www.cvce.eu/content/publ...
www.cvce.eu
January 22, 2026 at 9:12 AM
I suspect we are all going to need to read up on Akrotiri and Dhekelia - an example of a military base on an island (Cyprus) for which the military power (UK) has sovereignty.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotir...
www.cvce.eu/content/publ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrotir...
www.cvce.eu/content/publ...
Would like to read analysis of:
a. what would defence of the Arctic, including Greenland, look like? How much would it cost?
b. what exactly are the valuable economic assets in Greenland?
c. which businesses in the UK and EU countries would be adversely affected by an increase in US tarrifs?
a. what would defence of the Arctic, including Greenland, look like? How much would it cost?
b. what exactly are the valuable economic assets in Greenland?
c. which businesses in the UK and EU countries would be adversely affected by an increase in US tarrifs?
January 19, 2026 at 12:20 PM
Would like to read analysis of:
a. what would defence of the Arctic, including Greenland, look like? How much would it cost?
b. what exactly are the valuable economic assets in Greenland?
c. which businesses in the UK and EU countries would be adversely affected by an increase in US tarrifs?
a. what would defence of the Arctic, including Greenland, look like? How much would it cost?
b. what exactly are the valuable economic assets in Greenland?
c. which businesses in the UK and EU countries would be adversely affected by an increase in US tarrifs?
Joan Robinson "Beggar-My-Neighbour Remedies for Unemployment" 1937
ia802806.us.archive.org/16/items/ess... (p170-184)
ia802806.us.archive.org/16/items/ess... (p170-184)
January 19, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Joan Robinson "Beggar-My-Neighbour Remedies for Unemployment" 1937
ia802806.us.archive.org/16/items/ess... (p170-184)
ia802806.us.archive.org/16/items/ess... (p170-184)
Gotta love the Danes
January 2, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Gotta love the Danes
Reposted by Owen Barder
FCDO's internal “best buy” documents identify which interventions deliver the greatest impact—but aren't publicly available.
Euan Ritchie makes the case for publishing them to support partners and improve systems:
https://go.cgdev.org/4q8qsa6
Euan Ritchie makes the case for publishing them to support partners and improve systems:
https://go.cgdev.org/4q8qsa6
FCDO’s Best Buys Deserve a Larger Audience
FCDO has produced several sectoral documents specifying which types of interventions are likely to be most cost-effective based on a review of evidence— known as “best buys.” These documents—while imp...
www.cgdev.org
December 17, 2025 at 6:50 PM
FCDO's internal “best buy” documents identify which interventions deliver the greatest impact—but aren't publicly available.
Euan Ritchie makes the case for publishing them to support partners and improve systems:
https://go.cgdev.org/4q8qsa6
Euan Ritchie makes the case for publishing them to support partners and improve systems:
https://go.cgdev.org/4q8qsa6
Sweden is the most development-friendly country for the third year running.
With shrinking aid budgets, attention is shifting to how rich countries support development beyond aid.
🌟 Explore CGD’s Commitment to Development Index to see how the richest nations rank, how they affect the poorest, and where they must step up ⬇️🧵
https://go.cgdev.org/49ZJoD5
🌟 Explore CGD’s Commitment to Development Index to see how the richest nations rank, how they affect the poorest, and where they must step up ⬇️🧵
https://go.cgdev.org/49ZJoD5
Commitment to Development Index 2025
With levels of development finance falling, it is more important than ever to look beyond aid. The Commitment to Development Index (CDI) does just that—ranking the world’s most powerful countries on p...
go.cgdev.org
December 5, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Sweden is the most development-friendly country for the third year running.
31 years ago I set up the first UK government website to publish the budget online - the first country to do so.
I took an ASCII version of the documents from the typesetters, and worked overnight to put in HTML tags by hand.
I didn't FTP it to the server until the Chancellor sat down.
I took an ASCII version of the documents from the typesetters, and worked overnight to put in HTML tags by hand.
I didn't FTP it to the server until the Chancellor sat down.
November 27, 2025 at 8:58 AM
31 years ago I set up the first UK government website to publish the budget online - the first country to do so.
I took an ASCII version of the documents from the typesetters, and worked overnight to put in HTML tags by hand.
I didn't FTP it to the server until the Chancellor sat down.
I took an ASCII version of the documents from the typesetters, and worked overnight to put in HTML tags by hand.
I didn't FTP it to the server until the Chancellor sat down.
Reposted by Owen Barder
I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.
🧵 1/7
🧵 1/7
October 10, 2025 at 9:01 AM
I am delighted to share that Nobel laureates Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee will join our Department of Economics @econ.uzh.ch at the University of Zurich on July 1, 2026, as Lemann Foundation Professors of Economics.
🧵 1/7
🧵 1/7
Haha. Academia.edu account duly cancelled.
September 18, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Haha. Academia.edu account duly cancelled.
Reposted by Owen Barder
September 3, 2025 at 8:27 PM
I would happily buy a smart speaker that responds to voice commands to play music or the radio, and to control lights and other home automation, but which does not make recordings nor send data to a tech company. Why does this not exist? Is there not a big enough market for it?
September 2, 2025 at 8:14 AM
I would happily buy a smart speaker that responds to voice commands to play music or the radio, and to control lights and other home automation, but which does not make recordings nor send data to a tech company. Why does this not exist? Is there not a big enough market for it?
The evidence in favour of unconditional cash transfers continues to mount.
NEW: A new study by @oxfordcsae.bsky.social reveals that giving unconditional cash transfers to pregnant women in rural Kenya significantly reduces infant and child mortality.
Read more ⬇️
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-08...
Read more ⬇️
www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-08...
Study finds giving pregnant women cash transfers cuts infant
A new study by Associate Professor Dennis Egger (Department of Economics and Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford) and researchers at the University of California, Berkeley
www.ox.ac.uk
August 18, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The evidence in favour of unconditional cash transfers continues to mount.
This does not signal a high degree of tech literacy among UK civil servants (at least, not the ones in DEFRA responsible for water). It might have been a good idea to check this with DSIT.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...
August 12, 2025 at 4:02 PM
This does not signal a high degree of tech literacy among UK civil servants (at least, not the ones in DEFRA responsible for water). It might have been a good idea to check this with DSIT.
www.gov.uk/government/n...
www.gov.uk/government/n...