Upgrading Malaysia’s Semiconductor Ecosystem

Guest blog by Kenneth Woo, LEG ’25

When I joined this course 10 weeks ago, I expected to learn new frameworks for economic growth. Coming from Malaysia’s national investment ecosystem, and working daily on cross-border technology and industrial strategy, I have been preoccupied with the question: How can Malaysia escape the middle-income trap and raise its economic complexity? 

I came into the course believing the answer lay in better strategies, clearer visions, stronger policies, and more competitive positioning. All of that still matters. But what I learned during this course is that growth may not be the product of a masterplan but a result of persistent, iterative, capability-building work done by real people solving real constraints.

From Informality to Insight: Rethinking Economic Growth in Peru

Guest blog by Jennifer Infantas Paz de Noboa, LEG ’25

Over the past ten weeks, this course challenged the way I understand economic growth, public policy, and the hidden mechanics that keep countries like Peru stuck. I came in thinking our biggest challenge was “informality.” I leave understanding that informality is not the problem, but a symptom of deeper constraints, institutional gaps, and missing know-how. 

Identifying the Binding Constraint in Liberia’s Domestic Debt Market Development

Guest blog by Euphemia Swen-Monmia, LEG ’25 

Over the past 10 weeks in the Harvard Kennedy School Leading Economic Growth course, I embarked on a transformative learning journey—one that challenged me to rethink how we diagnose and solve complex economic problems. My focus was Liberia’s underdeveloped domestic debt market, a structural constraint that limits private sector financing and inclusive growth. This blog shares my key takeaways, progress on my growth challenge, and how I plan to apply these lessons moving forward. 

Bridging Education and Economic Growth in the United States

Guest blog by Kenneth Balcarcel, LEG ’25

I can’t believe it—10 weeks have flown by! When I enrolled in Harvard’s Leading Economic Growth Program, it wasn’t just a professional decision; it was a personal milestone. The curriculum, the chance to learn from world-class professors, and the depth of Harvard’s knowledge were all reasons I signed up. 
 
My focus has always been education as a tool for inclusion and economic growth. This program promised to give me new frameworks and reshape old ones—and it delivered. 

Transforming Saudi Arabia’s Sports Sector into a Sustainable, Investment-Driven Ecosystem

Guest blog by Mezna AlMarzooqi, LEG ’25

When I joined the Leading Economic Growth program, I expected a course on frameworks, theories, and best practices. What I did not expect was a journey that challenged everything I thought I knew about how growth actually happens. I entered the course with a simple question—how can Saudi Arabia turn its rapidly growing sports sector into a sustainable engine for economic diversification? Ten weeks later, I left with a completely transformed way of thinking about problems, possibilities, and my own role in shaping change. 

Diagnosing Nigeria’s Growth Constraints

Guest blog by Mathias Adamu, LEG ’25

Over the weeks, this course has reshaped not only how I approach complex national/regional/local or organizational challenges but also how I think about their development, especially Nigeria’s ongoing struggle to diversify, grow sustainably, and build systems that work. As someone deeply involved in leadership, energy, and development spaces, I found PDIA to be more than a framework, it’s a new way of seeing and responding to problems. 

Reversing New Mexico’s Brain Drain Through Economic Diversification

Guest blog by Rita Gaurin, LEG ’25

Over the past ten weeks, I’ve immersed myself in understanding one of New Mexico’s most pressing challenges: the persistent out-migration of our educated workforce and the struggle to diversify our economy beyond extractive industries. This journey has fundamentally shifted how I think about economic development, moving me from viewing problems through a single lens to understanding the intricate web of factors that either enable or constrain regional growth.  

Phosphate Decarbonization as a Catalyst for Growth in Morocco

Guest blog by Soumaya Benzennou, LEG ’25

When I began this course, I thought my challenge was technical: how can a hard-to-abate sector like phosphates decarbonize? But over the ten weeks, something shifted. The more we learned about growth, complexity and inclusion, the more I realized that my real challenge was not about emissions. It was about people, incentives, institutions, capabilities, and the possibility of turning a climate constraint into a growth engine for Morocco and for Africa.

Addressing Fragmented Housing and Behavioral Health Systems in Santa Fe County

Guest blog by Lisa Cacari Stone, IPP ’25

One of the deepest shifts for me has been realizing, as Matt told us, that ‘policy work is about people’—not just about ideas or analysis. I came into the course often frustrated that we had good ideas in Santa Fe but struggled to implement them. I now see that the ideas themselves cannot move unless people are inspired, supported, and organized to take them forward. The implementers are the heroes, and my role as a Santa Fe County Commissioner is to mobilize and sustain them.

A community-driven approach to flexible learning in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea

Guest blog by Kim Allen, Evangeline Balili, Russel Graham, Jacqueline Matawawina, and Norah Tamarua

What began as a learning journey for seven individuals became a mission for the Eastern Learners team. A team made up of individuals from the education sector, development sector, and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs). The Eastern Learners team had one mission: ‘to set up a Flexible Open and Distance Education (FODE) Learning Centre on Tubetube’, a remote island in Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. It all started with a transformative learning journey through Harvard University’s Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) course, a 12-week online program made possible through The Voice Inc. This reflection brings together the lessons, insights, progress, and aspirations of the Eastern Learners Team. It also offers words of encouragement for anyone across the world who is using PDIA to confront complex problems in their own communities.