Talks

Talk topics

Ted has lectured on a wide variety of topics related to his research, including the relationship between climate and violence, patterns of African economic and political development, the need for greater transparency in social science research, electrification and development, and links between health, education and productivity for the poor. He has also given public lectures on his books, Economic Gangsters, Africa’s Turn?, and Transparent and Reproducible Social Science Research. Most talks listed below are public lectures, often with slides, audio and video recordings. For a more complete list of talks (including academic seminars and conferences), refer to his CV.

Annual Bank Conference on Africa (ABCA) 2015

LocationUC Berkeley

DateJune 8, 2015

Ted was invited to present the keynote talk at the World Bank's Annual Bank Conference on Africa, "Confronting Conflict and Fragility in Africa" on June 8th, 2015. The two-day meeting covered various topics pertinent to the causes, solutions, and understanding of conflict and fragility in sub-Saharan Africa.

Evidence to Action (E2A) 2015

LocationGoogle

DateMay 4, 2015

At CEGA's annual Evidence to Action (E2A) event, Ted presented on a large and influential Chlorine Dispensers project to highlight the advances in Development Engineering.

Berkeley Institute for Transparency in the Social Sciences – Research Transparency Forum

LocationDavid Brower Center, Berkeley, CA

DateDecember 11, 2014

The movement towards more transparency, reproducibility, and openness has gained a lot momentum in the social sciences. Yet, the norms and institutions that govern academic research do not reflect this culture shift. Significant problems remain, including professional incentives that reward striking and statistically significant research findings at the expense of scientific integrity. Increasing the reliability and accuracy of scientific evidence requires …

Continue reading "Berkeley Institute for Transparency in the Social Sciences – Research Transparency Forum"

International Agricultural Trade Research Consortium (IATRC): The Economics of Civil War

LocationSan Diego, CA

DateDecember 7, 2014

In December 2014, Ted spoke at IATRC's Annual Meeting themed "Food and Resources: Conflict and Trade" on the links between global climate change and its implications on conflict and poverty.

Fifth Annual Symposium on Computing for Development (ACM-DEV) 2014

LocationSan Jose, CA

DateDecember 5, 2014

Technology plays a central role in economic transformation. Yet relatively few teams of economists and engineers work together to maximize technology's impact on international development. In his address, Berkeley Professor Edward Miguel describes the experimental methodologies that today's economists employ in their work, and cases where their research findings have contributed to large-scale policy change. …

Continue reading "Fifth Annual Symposium on Computing for Development (ACM-DEV) 2014"

Masters in Development Practice (MDP) Chat

LocationEvans Hall, U.C. Berkeley

DateNovember 21, 2014

Second year Berkeley Master of Development Practice student, Kennedy Mugo from Nairobi, Kenya, sits down with Ted Miguel in his Berkeley office to discuss Africa's economic future – and how to stay young.

Master of Development Practice (MDP) Special Lecture Series

LocationUC Berkeley

DateNovember 13, 2014

Ted was invited to speak at UC Berkeley's Master of Development Practice (MDP) Special Lecture Series on the trajectory of Africa's development through the lens of his career as an economist, providing insight on the future of African development based on his research findings and those of his colleagues.

Bay Area Global Health Seminar Series

LocationUC Berkeley

DateNovember 12, 2014

By 2015, it is projected that we will be sharing the planet with 7.3 billion people. While the human population swells — especially in parts of the world where there is more poverty, disease, famine, and political instability — we must continue finding innovative ways to achieve global health goals. Population health coheres infectious disease, …

Continue reading "Bay Area Global Health Seminar Series"

Promoting Transparency in Social Science Research

LocationUCLA, Royce Hall

DateMay 16, 2014

Ted was invited to give the keynote speech at the 2014 Annual Working Group in African Political Economy (WGAPE) meeting at UCLA. The presentation covered recent progress toward research transparency in the social sciences and make the case for standards and practices that help realign scholarly incentives with scholarly values.

Promoting Transparency in Social Science Research

LocationExperiments in Governance and Politics (EGAP) Meeting, UC Berkeley

DateApril 11, 2014

Ted was invited to speak at the Experiments in Governance and Politics (EGAP) meeting on transparency in the social sciences and make the case for standards and practices that help realign scholarly incentives with scholarly values.

Promoting Transparency in Social Science Research

LocationEconomics Department, UC Berkeley

DateApril 9, 2014

The presentation covers recent progress toward research transparency in the social sciences and make the case for standards and practices that help realign scholarly incentives with scholarly values. There is growing appreciation for the advantages of experimentation in the social sciences, but accompanying these changes is a growing sense that incentives, norms, and institutions under …

Continue reading "Promoting Transparency in Social Science Research"

Promoting Transparency in Social Science Research

LocationNew York University, Development Research Institute

DateApril 4, 2014

Ted was invited to present at NYU's Development Research Institute in April, 2014. His talk focused on the recent progress toward research transparency in the social sciences and make the case for standards and practices that help realign scholarly incentives with scholarly values.

TEDxBerkeley talk: Climate, Conflict, and African Development

LocationZellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley

DateFebruary 8, 2014

TEDxBerkeley talk: Climate, Conflict, and African Development Ted presented at the February 2014 TEDxBerkeley event at Zellerbach Hall. He discussed results from his paper 2013 Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict, which he co-authored with Solomon Hsiang and Marshall Burke and appeared in Science.

Understanding Ethnic Cooperation: Evidence from Experiments in Kenya and Tanzania

LocationAlumnae Hall, U.C. Berkeley

DateNovember 20, 2013

How much cooperation exists across ethnic lines in East Africa? And how is this cooperation affected by political circumstances and messages? This project, which is joint with several co-authors (Lars Ivar O. Berge, Kjetil Bjorvatn, Simon Galle, Dan Posner, Bertil Tungodden, Kelly Zhang), uses evidence from lab experiments in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, …

Continue reading "Understanding Ethnic Cooperation: Evidence from Experiments in Kenya and Tanzania"

African Youth, Education and Economic Development

LocationDakar, Senegal

DateOctober 3, 2013

A talk on the relationship between education, health and economic performance in Africa, and the role that impact evaluations can play in advancing public policy in this area.

International and Area Studies Commencement Address

LocationBerkeley, CA, USA

DateMay 13, 2013

Ted was the commencement speaker for UC Berkeley’s International and Area Studies Spring 2013 graduation.

Conflict, Climate, and African Development (Harvard)

LocationCambridge, MA, USA

DateApril 2, 2013

In April 2013, Ted was an invited speaker in the Seymour E. & Ruth B. Harris lecture series, where he presented results from his paper Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict. The lecture series is hosted bi-annually by the Department of Economics at Harvard University.

Conflict, Climate, and African Development (Oxford)

LocationOxford, UK

DateMarch 18, 2013

Conflict, Climate, and African Development (Oxford) Ted gave the Keynote Speech at the 2013 Center for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) conference at Oxford University. He presented results from his paper Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict, which he co-authored with Solomon Hsiang and Marshall Burke.