Research initiative on the regulation & development: states, markets, and information asymmetries

Since the early 2000s, AFD and TSE have forged a fruitful collaboration to analyze the economic, social, and environmental dynamics at the heart of development trajectories, with a particular focus on regulatory issues and the market failures that underlie them. AFD is one of TSE’s earliest partners.

Renewed in 2025, this partnership is part of a strengthened ambition: to produce research capable of shedding light on the conditions under which the quality of goods and institutions, regulatory architecture, and integration into international value chains can serve as sustainable drivers of industrialization and productive transformation.

It also aims to better understand the mechanisms by which polarization forms and spreads in the age of disinformation, as well as to identify tools that can limit its effects, whether through public policies, regulatory measures, or new science communication strategies based on trust and transparency.

Activities

The research initiative, combines several types of activities:

• Conducting research on identified issues,
• Organizing seminars, workshops, and scientific events bringing together researchers, development experts, and public policymakers,
• Producing materials that make academic research accessible to policymakers and development stakeholders.

Based in a long-term vision, the research projects conducted rely on regular interactions between TSE researchers and AFD teams. This research initiative benefits from visibility through TSE’s various communication channels.