BREAD-IGC virtual PhD course: Political Economy (Fall 2026)

About: Political economy provides a powerful set of tools for understanding economic development. Addressing many of the world’s most important challenges—from reducing poverty and preventing conflict to tackling climate change—requires understanding political power, how that power is constrained, and how states acquire the capacity to implement and hold policy accountable.

These questions are especially important in low- and middle-income countries, where state capacity is often limited, political institutions are evolving, and formal and informal institutions interact to shape economic and political behaviour.

When:  The course will run from 8 September 2026 – 24 November 2026, with one lecture per week every Tuesday at 3:30-5:00pm BST/GMT, including an interactive Q&A session. Participation is free and certificates of completion will be awarded to those who attend 10/12 lectures in the series. Register here.

Find complete information on the IGC website, here.

STEG-PEDL Virtual Course: Private Enterprises, Productivity, and Economic Growth (Spring 2026)

About: The PEDL and STEG programmes are offering a free virtual course titled 'Private Enterprise, Productivity, and Economic Growth' for the spring of 2026, which is taught by a series of lecturers and experts in the field.

When: The virtual course will meet weekly on Fridays from 15:30 - 17:00 London time (10:30-12:00 US Eastern time), beginning on 6 February 2026. You can find more information about the course and register for it here.

Find complete information on the CEPR website, here.

BREAD / VDEV / CEPR Seminars

BREAD co-organizes an online seminar series for a global audience on development economics topics with VDEV and CEPR. Seminars are held biweekly on Tuesdays.

The Spring 2026 sessions of the Virtual Development Economics Series will start on Tuesday 6 March and will take place virtually, bi-weekly on Tuesdays at 4PM CET / 3PM GMT / 10AM EST / 7AM PST until Tuesday 26 May 2026.

For US attendees: Due to the Daylight Saving Time change, seminar timing will switch one hour once Daylight Savings time switches. 

Register and check the seminar schedule, here.

BREAD-IGC Virtual PhD Courses

The BREAD Course Committee organizes an online PhD course annually. The IGC website has all information for the courses and many recorded lectures from past years.

See most recent courses below with links to IGC website. See IGC FAQ for additional information about the course.

• Fall 2026: Political Economy

• Fall 2025: Social Protection

• Fall 2024: Urban Economics

• Fall 2023: Environmental Economics

• Spring 2023: Firms and Development

• Spring 2022: Education; Credit, insurance, and risk; and Migration