The World Bank’s Enterprise Analysis Unit thanks all authors for their submissions to the David Dollar Memorial Prize 2026, an award recognizing rigorous, policy-relevant research on private sector development. The prize honors David Dollar, a pioneering economist whose distinguished career spanned the World Bank,  UCLA, the U.S. Treasury, and the Brookings Institution, and who helped shape the Bank’s focus on the investment climate.

• Eligibility: Full working papers (produced within the last three years) or journal articles (published on or after January 1, 2024) using the World Bank Enterprise Surveys as their primary data source. Papers submitted to the 2025 prize edition are not eligible.
• Deadline: The submission window closed on January 25, 2026 (11:59 PM EST) and the submissions are under review. New submissions for the 2026 edition are currently not being accepted.
• Selection Process: Eligible papers are evaluated in three rounds. First, a committee composed of members of the World Bank Enterprise Surveys team reviews submissions for rigor, originality, and relevance. Selected papers are then assessed by a committee of World Bank economists outside the Enterprise Surveys team. Finally, the winner is chosen from the shortlist by the Director of the World Bank’s Policy Indicators Group, Norman Loayza, and the Manager of the Enterprise Analysis Unit, Jorge Rodríguez Meza.
• Award: The prize (which includes a monetary component, 3 000 USD) will be awarded at the World Bank Enterprise Surveys 20th Anniversary Forum on May 20, 2026, with travel and accommodation covered for one author of the winning paper.

Selection Committee:

• Amparo Palacios-Lopez, Program Manager. Surveys Unit, World Bank
• Attique Ur Rehman, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank
• David C. Francis, Senior Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics, World Bank
• Davide Salvatore Mare, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank
• Domenico Viganola, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank
• Filip Jolevski, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank
• Gemechu Ayana Aga, Senior Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank
• Hibret Belete Maemir, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank
• Marc Tobias Schiffbauer,  Lead Economist, SME and Enterprise Development, Policy and Regulations, World Bank
• Mehmet Nazim Tamkoc, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank
• Mohammad Amin, Senior Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics,  World Bank (Selection Committee Chair)
• Nesma Ali, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics, World Bank
• Nona Karalashvili, Senior Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics, World Bank
• Norma Gomez, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics, World Bank
• Phoebe W. Ishak, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics, World Bank
• Siddharth Sharma,  Lead Economist, South Asia Chief Economists Office, World Bank
• Solomiya Shpak, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics, World Bank
• Ziad Ghandour, Economist, Enterprise Analysis Unit, Development Economics, World Bank

For information on the previous edition of the David Dollar Memorial Prize (2025), see here.