Beyond the comfort zone: bringing empirical research to fragile countries

Miscellaneous Jan 2026 Sustainable Growth and State Fragility initiative

Despite almost a quarter of the world's population living in fragile countries, only around 3% of published research in top economics and political science journals focuses on them.

Policymakers need evidence of what works when traditional state capacity is weak, infrastructure is damaged, and populations face compounding crises. However, the characteristics that make fragile countries important to study also make them challenging research environments.