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CRADLE

The world stands at a crossroads, with rising anxiety about our capacity to sustain economic and social development while containing political conflicts. Cornell Research Academy of Development, Law, and Economics (CRADLE) takes on fundamental questions about law, economics, politics, morality, and human welfare, particularly as they relate to the developing world.

CRADLE connects faculty and students at Cornell with leading thinkers in academia, government, international development, civil society, and the private sector. Participants come from diverse disciplines and vocations, but all share an interest in social and institutional development, finance, and global economic policy.


Law and Economics Papers

With rapidly advancing technology and mounting challenges from climate change to new forms of globalization, the dynamics of the economy are transforming. This open-access paper series aims to help navigate this new world by promoting original thinking in law and economics and drawing on insights from social sciences.

Submitted papers undergo a brief review process and post upon acceptance. Authors retain the right to publish the paper in a journal or book. To foster diversity and inclusion within our intellectual community, we are particularly interested in receiving submissions from developing nations, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

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Latest Activities 

India Conference 2023

India Conference 2023 was a three-day conference featuring distinguished Cornell faculty, prominent economists, and Indian corporate leaders. This conference delved into the latest advances in the Indian economy and its challenges, anchored under the theme "India's Economy in a Changing Global Landscape."

Line of workers sewing in crowded Bangladesh garment factory (Photo by Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association)

Research Report: Toward a Viable Joint Liability Framework for Transnational Labor Regulation: Lessons from the Bangladesh Experiment

Written by E. Ayaj Rana, a PhD student at Cornell’s Industrial and Labor Relations School. The Accord on Building and Fire Safety in Bangladesh emerged as a transnational initiative to address the worker safety concerns prevalent in the country’s garment industry. The report examines lessons from the Accord’s subsequent demise.

Law, Economics, and Conflict

Edited by CRADLE directors Kaushik Basu and Robert Hockett, Law, Economics, and Conflict grew out of the 2018 conference in New York City that kicked off the CRADLE initiative. The Einaudi Center’s Cornell Global Perspectives imprint at Cornell University Press published the volume in August 2021.

Purchase

World Economics Roundtable: "Eliminating Deficits in the Understanding of Deficits" 

This World Economics Roundtable, held on February 11, 2021, featured expert discussion focused on gross capital flows and their implications for financing trade deficits and for fiscal and financial stability.


Organization

Directors

Kaushik Basu

Kaushik Basu headshot

Basu served as chief economist of the World Bank from 2012 to 2016, and was president of the International Economic Association from 2017 to 2021.

Robert Hockett

Robert C. Hockett headshot

Hockett is the Edward Cornell Professor of Law, Cornell Law School; Regular Visiting Professor of Finance, Georgetown McDonough School of Business, and Senior Counsel, Westwood Capital.

Steering Committee

Cornell Members 

Daniel Alpert (Cornell Law), Christopher Barrett (IAD), Robert Frank, George Hay, Ravi Kanbur, Muna Ndulo (IAD), Ted O’Donoghue, Saule Omarova 

External Members 

Stephanie Kelton (State University of New York–Stony Brook), Zia Mody (AZB & Partners, Mumbai), Sri Mulyani Indrawati (Minister of Finance, Indonesia), Joseph Stiglitz (Columbia University)