WDR 2026 on AI: Akcigit named a Co-Academic Lead.

The World Bank announced that the 2026 World Development Report will focus on Artificial Intelligence for Development, with Prof. Ufuk Akcigit serving as a Co-Academic Lead alongside Susan Athey (Stanford), under report Director Gaurav Nayyar. Akcigit also served as Lead Academic of the WDR 2024 on the Middle-Income Trap.

WDR 2026 will examine how middle- and low-income countries can harness AI to escape productivity stagnation, building directly on the 3i framework articulated in WDR 2024.