Universidad de Montevideo Professor of Economics Giorgio Chiovelli is among the founding leaders of the International Development Economics Association (IDEA), the first global, open, and democratically governed professional association for development economists, which launched publicly on June 24, 2026. Development economists worldwide are invited to join the community at idea.devecon.org.

Professor Chiovelli serves on IDEA’s elected Board as Latin America Representative.

Development economics is one of the largest subfields in economics, yet until now it has had no global, open professional association of its own. IDEA was created to fill that gap — serving development economists at every career stage, in every country, and across all intellectual traditions and methodological approaches, with particular attention to scholars in low- and middle-income countries who have lacked a comparable professional home.

IDEA was founded in January 2026 by a Founding Board of 89 scholars from more than 40 countries. Its 15-member governing Board, elected by the Founding Board and seated in April 2026, spans six continents. A three-year partnership with the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD) is already in place, and IDEA is designed to complement existing institutions in the field rather than compete with them.

“Development economics is a global field, but the professional spaces that connect economists have not always been equally global or equally accessible. IDEA can help change that by creating an open professional home where researchers from Latin America and other regions can exchange ideas, build collaborations, and contribute more directly to the future of the field,” said Giorgio Chiovelli, Professor of Economics at Universidad de Montevideo.

Development economists can join now at idea.devecon.org.

About IDEA
The International Development Economics Association (IDEA) is the first global, open, democratically governed professional association for development economists. Founded in 2026, IDEA is open to all who work in or study development economics — regardless of career stage, country, intellectual tradition, or methodological approach — with particular attention to scholars in low- and middle-income countries. A three-year partnership with BREAD is in place. Learn more and join at idea.devecon.org. Follow @ideadevecon on LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, and Instagram.

Just 24 hours after its public launch, and at the time of publication of this article on June 25, 2026, the International Development Economics Association (IDEA) already has 1,700 registered members across more than 100 countries.