Writing &
research.
Books, journal articles, working papers and essays — mostly on dignity, behaviour and development.
Selected work
Book
Marketplace Dignity
Engaging people with respect at every step of their journey. With Cait Lamberton & Neela Saldanha (2024).
Paper
First steps toward respectful development
Three experiments on dignity in aid in Kenya and the US. World Development Perspectives (2023).
Measure
Felt Respect for Dignity
A validated five-item survey measure of respect, tested across three countries (2022).
Lives of Dignity: How Aid Can Treasure Humans
I’m currently working on this book. Agents and publishers — I’d be glad to chat.
Books & book chapters
- Lamberton, C., Saldanha, N. & Wein, T. (2024). Marketplace Dignity: Transforming how we engage with customers across their journey. Philadelphia: Wharton School Press.
- Wein, T., Ghai, S., Lamberton, C., & Saldanha, N. (2023). The Psychology of Consumer Dignity. In C. Lamberton, D. Rucker, & S. Spiller (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Consumer Psychology (pp. 387–415). Cambridge University Press.
- Wein, T. & Sobti, M. (2023). Dignity: its centrality to applied research. In L. Artavia-Mora & Z. Khan (Eds.), Behavioral Science for Development. Action Design Network. — A Habit Weekly Book of the Year 2023.
Journal articles & working papers
- Lamberton, C., Wein, T., Morningstar, A. & Ghai, S. (2024). Marketing’s role in promoting dignity and human rights: A conceptualization for assessment and future research. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science. — Finalist, 2024 Sheth Foundation JAMS Best Paper Award.
- Wein, T., Lanthorn, H., & Fischer, T. (2023). First steps toward building respectful development: Three experiments on dignity in aid in Kenya and the United States. World Development Perspectives, 29, 100485. (Open access).
- Wein, T., Khatry, P., & Bhimani, R. (2022). A new five-item survey measure of Felt Respect for Dignity performs well in three countries and three contexts. IDinsight (working paper).
- Wein, T. (2022). Dignity and development: a review of the literature on its application, definition and measurement. The Dignity Project (working paper).
- Tang, C., Owsley, N., & Wein, T. (2021). Generalizing with equity: the Busara research agenda on contextualisation and cross-cultural measurement in the Global South. Busara Blue Paper No. 3.
- Mumo, J., Owsley, N., & Wein, T. (2021). Participant voice first: the Busara research agenda on ethical research in the Global South. Busara Blue Paper No. 4.
- Mughogho, W., Owsley, N., & Wein, T. (2021). Replicable quality across every channel: the Busara research agenda on methods in the Global South. Busara Blue Paper No. 5.
- Wein, T. (2020). A research agenda for dignity in international development. The Dignity Project (working paper).
- Wein et al. (2020). Primed, but not engaged: the poor performance of self-efficacy primes in promoting civic engagement, in a laboratory experiment in Uganda (working paper).
- Wein, T. (2011). The ‘narrative strategy’: A politicized strategy for leaving Afghanistan. Infinity Journal.
Other reports
- Wein, T. & Maru, C. (2026). Focusing Dignity: Learnings from product research. IDinsight.
- Wein, T. et al. (2025). Dignity Report 2025: Building cultures of dignity. IDinsight.
- Wein, T., Bonargent, A., Leseine, C. & Oumellouche, I. (2025). Advancing the measurement of beneficiary preferences through updated methods: Final report for GiveWell. IDinsight.
- Wein, T. et al. (2025). When Aid Stops: Voices from the Ground. The Dignity Project.
- Wein, T., Dilshad, S., Bwalya, F. & Fofana, N. (2024). Dignity Report 2024: What works. IDinsight.
- Wein, T., Dilshad, S., Bwalya, F. & Mungomba, N. (2023). Dignity Report 2023: Honing in on impact. IDinsight.
- Wein, T. & Mukanu, M. (2023). A framework for partnerships between research organizations and social movements. IDinsight.
- Wein, T., Blair, M. & Mungomba, N. (2022). Dignity Report 2022: Gathering Allies Worldwide. IDinsight.
- Wein, T. & Attendees of the Dignity Symposium. (2022). Dignity Research Agenda Consensus Statement. IDinsight.
- Wambua, J. & Wein, T. (2022). Cultures of dignity are possible: Lessons on how to build organizations that respect humans. IDinsight & Busara Center.
- Wein, T., Bergemann, R. & Kahura, C. (2022). Dignity and Cash: GiveDirectly’s unconditional cash transfers in Kiryandongo refugee settlement. IDinsight.
- Wein, T., Fischer, T. & Lanthorn, H. (2022). Dignity in practice: An attempt to define and operationalize a complex construct. IDinsight.
- Wein, T. (2021). The Dignity Report: Three years of research on dignity and international development. The Dignity Project.
Blogposts & short articles
- The mirage of a sole appropriate evaluation design. With Marina Apgar & Ben Cislaghi. Institute of Development Studies, for the Full Spectrum Evidence & Learning Initiative. April 2025.
- Exploring our positionalities to navigate design choices. With Marina Apgar & Ben Cislaghi. Institute of Development Studies, for the Full Spectrum Evidence & Learning Initiative. April 2025.
- Trump Has Put George W. Bush’s Lifesaving Legacy in Danger. With Lauren Gilbert & Garrison Lovely. Foreign Policy. February 2025.
- Comparing experiences of dignity cross-culturally — evidence from the US, India and Nigeria. With Cait Lamberton. April 2024.
- Qualitative experiences of dignity in the United States: what we learned from 4,374 stories. With colleagues. October 2023.
- Partnering with IDinsight’s Dignity Initiative to Advance Dignity through Data. With Matias Nestore. August 2023.
- The Philanthropic Community Must Lead on Advancing Dignity — And Here’s How. With Ruth Levine. CEP. March 2023.
- Dignity self-assessment tool. IDinsight. March 2023.
- Three ways the humanitarian sector can make good on its commitment to dignity. IDinsight. February 2023.
- Gathering Allies Worldwide: Dignity Initiative Reflections for 2022. With Mary Blair & Nakubyana Mungomba. December 2022.
- Operationalizing dignity in humanitarian aid. With colleagues. November 2022.
- Defining and operationalizing dignity. With Heather Lanthorn & Torben Fischer. August 2022.
- Value and validation: How feedback enhances the quality of research outputs. With colleagues. January 2022.
- Prioritizing dignity in practice: Understanding research dignity from the participant perspective. With colleagues. January 2022.
- One size does not fit all. With Chang Tang. Busara Center. November 2021.
- Mapping out methods: Bringing structure to the study of behavior. Busara Center. October 2021.
- Speed up your qualitative analysis with Data Stripping Sheets. Evidence Aid. February 2019.
- How to run experiments, when you can’t afford a randomized trial. Evidence Aid. November 2018.
- PSJP response: A step on the path to defining dignity. November 2018.
- Bringing Behavioral Science to “Edutainment”. Behavioral Scientist. September 2018.
- The “stink bomb” effect in charitable giving. With Jeremy Shapiro. Busara Center. September 2018.
- The Dignity Project: Respectful Development — Supporting Concept Paper. Busara Center. May 2018.
- What does ‘Dignity’ add to our understanding of development? From Poverty to Power. February 2018.
- The transmission and replication of security practices in development research (Master’s thesis). Malmö University. January 2018.
- Do Peer-to-Peer Lenders Understand Risk? CGAP. March 2017.
- Three steps forward — a research agenda for behavioural change. InDecision Blog. February 2016.
- Using Psychology to Comprehend War. BehavioralEconomics.com. August 2015.
- Misbehaving at the LSE: Richard Thaler and Paul Dolan. June 2015.
- Behavior Change Is Political Change. June 2015.
- Behavioural Insights in International Development. June 2015.
Arts & other interests
- Decline and Fall: a history of the Gifted Amateur in cricket. The Nightwatchman. September 2016.
- Snapshots from the anti-political tendency. Personal essay. March 2014.
- False Moustache, Issue 1 (March 2012) and Issue 2 (October 2012) — a magazine I edited showcasing writing by young Londoners.
- Assorted reviews and musings on my tumblr, and occasional research updates on my blog.
Tom Wein 