CRI Research

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The Weiss Fund for research in development economics

The world’s leading development economists, providing fast, flexible grants to graduate students and junior faculty. And pre-doc fellowships, too.

Founded in 2012, The Weiss fund exists to encourage the next generation of economists to improve the lives of those living in poverty in low-income and middle-income countries. The Weiss Fund is sector and geography agnostic, and is both broadly and singularly interested in the alleviation of suffering.

How It Works

The fund is structured as a committee of pre-eminent economists. Each committee member is tasked with reading proposals, providing feedback, and voting on funding decisions. For applicants, this is an opportunity to access not only research funds, but highly valuable feedback on their proposal by the most esteemed experts in the field.

2019 Nobel prize winners in economics, Michael Kremer, Esther Duflo, and Abhijit Banerjee are among the founding committee members, and we are hugely gratified that they donated their Nobel prize award to the fund.

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Kabir Banerjee Predoctoral Fellowship

Founded in 2021, the Kabir Banerjee Predoctoral Fellowship furthers the mission of ushering in the next generation of leading development economists by placing exceptional applicants in 2-year pre-doc fellowships at top ranked universities under the mentorship of leading economists.

Pre-doc fellows hail from low- and middle-income countries. We aim to find the brightest talent from hometowns and institutions disconnected from the usual machinery of well-networked academia. We believe talent is everywhere and a lack of connection to the right people shouldn’t be the reason you don’t succeed.