Michael Callen, Associate Professor at the London School of Economics and Noosheen Hashemi Visiting Fellow at the King Center, explores how conflict and institutional instability reshape the path to economic progress. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Afghanistan and beyond, Callen examines the hurdles of policy implementation when the landscape is in flux. He also discusses why the insights gained from fragile states are becoming vital for understanding institutional resilience in developed nations.

Callen's research focuses on development economics, political economy, and behavioral economics, with a primary emphasis on Afghanistan, Nepal, and Pakistan. He serves as co-director of the State Capabilities Program and the lead academic for the Fragile States Initiative at the International Growth Centre. Additionally, he is the Scientific Director for Inclusion Economics – Nepal and a research associate at the Center for Economic Policy Research (CEPR). He also currently serves on the editorial boards of the Review of Economic Studies and the Journal of the European Economic Association, and is a co-editor at VoxDev.