The 2007 Northeast Universities Development Consortium (NEUDC) Conference reveals what a different (i.e. broader and more exciting) field that development economics has become in the past decade. Just a few highlights from the full range of sessions and papers include:

• Paxson & Schady: How cash transfers affect child health
• Jha: Impact of trade on religious riots
• Ferraz: The political capture of Brazilian bureaucrats
• Comin, Easterly & Gong: Was the wealth of nations determined in 1000 BC?
• Ksoll: Family networks raise education among orphans in Tanzania
• Michalopoulos: Economic origins of cultural diversity
• Paluck: Can a radio soap opera reduce prejudice in Rwanda?
• McKelvey: Using circumcision to assess the labor market impact of AIDS
• Mel, McKenzie & Woodruff: How to measure micro-enterprise profits
• Olken: Does deliberation or democracy promote better local development?
• Clemens & Pritchett: Is migration development?
• Bjorkman & Svensson: Does community-based monitoring of development work?