July 22, 2025
Washington, D.C.
Development in the Age of Populism
This year's ABCDE is organized by the World Bank, with support from the Institute for Economic Development, and in conjunction with the Center for Global Development and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. It aims to assess the developments during the last decade, analyze the causes, and adjust our approach to economic progress.
Bringing together some of the world’s leading economic thinkers, the conference will help identify the best way forward—with deep dives on key topics such as artificial intelligence, migration, nutrition and health, and pollution, and a geographical focus that spans the world. Attendees will explore geopolitical shifts; unilateralism and multilateralism; and growth and opportunity.
Sign up to join us in-person or access the livestream to watch online.
By most measures of human progress, the world is in better shape today than it has ever been—in life expectancy, in per capita GDP, in literacy rates, among other things. Yet, profound dissatisfaction has taken root in many countries, at every level of income. The global economic system that has powered much of this progress over the last 80 years is now widely regarded as broken. Nearly two-thirds of the global electorate went to the polls last year to register their displeasure regarding income inequality, cultural insecurity, and elite institutions.
Populism, in short, is ascendant to an unusually synchronized degree, fueled by a fragmenting public consensus on the policies needed for economic progress. It will pose a formidable development challenge in the coming years.
Download the Conference Agenda here. All times are in Eastern Standard Time (EST).
Dr Mohamed El-Erian is President of Queens’ College Cambridge, Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz, and Chair of the Gramercy Funds. He is an advisor to the GIC Investment Strategies Committee. He chairs the Board of Under Armour and serves on the board of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and co-Chief Investment Officer of PIMCO from 2007 to 2014, and former chair of President Obama’s Global Development Council from 2012 to 2017. He was President and CEO of Harvard Management Company, Managing Director at Salomon Smith Barney/Citigroup, and Deputy Director at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. Dr El-Erian writes regularly and is a Financial Times Contributing Editor and Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He has two New York Times’ best sellers (the 2008 ‘When Markets Collide’ and the 2016 ‘The Only Game in Town’) and A Times’ Top Ten (the 2023 “Premacrisis”). He was named four years in a row to the Foreign Policy list of Top Global Thinkers. Dr El-Erian holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree in Economics from Cambridge University, as well as a Masters and Doctorate in Economics from Oxford University. Read More
Ajay Banga is the President of the World Bank Group, beginning his five-year term on June 2, 2023. He stepped into the role with a clear mandate: to transform the 80-year-old institution into a faster, more efficient, and more impactful partner in development. Since taking office, he has led the adoption of a new vision and mission for the World Bank: to create a world free of poverty—on a livable planet. Under his leadership, the Bank has undertaken a broad set of reforms to boost lending capacity, simplify operations, and deliver development solutions that are practical, scalable, and impactful. He has prioritized a more agile institution—one that is easier to work with and focused on getting results. Prior to joining the World Bank, he was Vice Chairman at General Atlantic and, before that, President and CEO of Mastercard. There, he led a global workforce of nearly 24,000 and made financial inclusion a core part of the company’s strategy. Read More
Masood Ahmed is the president emeritus of the Center for Global Development (CGD). He joined the Center in January 2017, capping a 35-year career driving economic development policy initiatives relating to debt, aid effectiveness, trade, and global economic prospects at major international institutions including the IMF, World Bank, and DFID. He joined CGD from the IMF, where he served for eight years as director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, earning praise from Managing Director Christine Lagarde as a “visionary leader.” In that role, he oversaw the Fund's operations in 32 countries, and managed relationships with key national and regional policy makers and stakeholders. In previous years, he also served as the IMF's director of External Relations, and deputy director of the Policy Development and Review Department. Read More
See all speakers here.
