SEATTLE—Much progress has been made on financial inclusion over the last 15 years, with account ownership in low- and middle-income countries surging from 42% in 2011 to 75% today. This largely reflects the rise of new banking models, such as mobile money, which have lowered both costs and technological barriers substantially, especially by enabling people to access their accounts using basic mobile phones. But 1.3 billion adults—more than half of them women—remain excluded from the formal financial system, and lower-income consumers still struggle to find and access the financial products and services they need.

Neil Leslei/Getty Images Economics 4 The Dismally Obedient Science Carolina Alves While empirical inquiry has its place in economics, the pursuit of causality must not be allowed to displace the pursuit of explanation. Beyond identifying causal effects within existing arrangements, economists must investigate how those arrangements are produced, reproduced, and contested. warns that empirical research in economics is displacing investigation of underlying causes.

The Dismally Obedient Science

While empirical inquiry has its place in economics, the pursuit of causality must not be allowed to displace the pursuit of explanation. Beyond identifying causal effects within existing arrangements, economists must investigate how those arrangements are produced, reproduced, and contested.

J Studios/Getty Images Longer Reads 1 Closing Europe’s Dynamism Deficit Carl Benedikt Frey identifies the roots of continental sclerosis, and explains what a successful economic model would look like.

Closing Europe’s Dynamism Deficit

Li Yahui/Xinhua via Getty Images Innovation 0 Technological Leapfrogging in the AI Age Mark-Alexandre Doumba points out that development depends on building indigenous capacity, not mere access to imported........

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