This annual conference serves as a meeting point for development economists active in the Nordic countries, but is also targeted more generally to academic researchers in Europe and beyond.
The conference was established in 2002, led by Finn Tarp and Magnus Hatlebakk. Since its inception, the conference has rotated among universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Each edition features keynote lectures by internationally renowned scholars, and provides a platform for both established and early-career researchers to share new empirical and theoretical work that can inform development policy.
NCDE normally does not have a conference fee. The conference dinner and other meals are provided by the organizers. Conference participants are expected to finance travel and accommodation by their own means or by support from their home universities.
| Year | Host Institution | Keynote Speakers | Program |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | OsloMet, Oslo, Norway | Eliana La Ferrara, Kalle Moene | Program |
| 2024 | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | Santiago Levy, Jenny Aker | Program |
| 2023 | University of Gothenburg, Sweden | Martina Björkman Nyqvist, E. Somanathan, Chris Blattman | Program |
| 2022 | Helsinki Graduate School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland | Leonard Wantchekon, Karen Macours | Program |
| 2021 | NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, Norway (online) | Axel Dreher, Tessa Bold | Program |
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 | ||
| 2019 | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | Travis Lybbert, Marc F. Bellemare | Program |
| 2018 | UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland | Sonia Bhalotra, Ravi Kanbur | Program |
| 2017 | Institute for International Economic Studies, Stockholm University, Sweden | Oriana Bandiera, Jakob Svensson | Program |
| 2016 | University of Oslo, Norway | Bertil Tungodden | Program |
| 2015 | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | Peter Lanjouw, Jim Davies | Program |
| 2014 | UNU-WIDER, Helsinki, Finland | Stefan Dercon, Jean-Philippe Platteau | Program |
| 2013 | NHH Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, Norway | Martin Ravallion, Emanuelle Auriol | Program |
| 2012 | University of Gothenburg, Sweden | Chris Adam, James Robinson | — |
| 2011 | University of Copenhagen, Denmark | John Page, Tony Venables | Program |
| 2010 | Helsinki, Finland | Luc Soete | — |
| 2009 | Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway | Michael Carter, Klaus Deininger | — |
| 2008 | Stockholm, Sweden | Esther Duflo | — |
| 2007 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Alain de Janvry, Chris Udry | — |
| 2006 | Oslo, Norway | Todd Sandler | — |
| 2005 | Helsinki, Finland | Rohini Pande | — |
| 2004 | University of Gothenburg, Sweden | Paul Collier, Tim Besley | — |
| 2003 | Copenhagen, Denmark | Paul Streeten, Eric Thorbecke | — |
| 2002 | Bergen, Norway | Shanta Devarajan, Kaushik Basu | — |