Irati Labaien

Irati Labaien is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Applied Economics I at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), accredited as an Associate Professor by UNIBASQ. She holds a PhD in Development Studies from Hegoa Institute (UPV/EHU) and has been affiliated with the university since the 2015/16 academic year. Her research focuses on Development Cooperation, Policy Coherence, Decentralized Cooperation, and regional development dynamics, particularly in the Basque Country. She co-directs the publication Hegoak Zabalduz, an online platform for development-related issues in Basque. Her work includes national and international projects, emphasizing policy analysis and sustainability in development frameworks.

Labaien has published extensively on decentralized cooperation, policy coherence, and regional development strategies, contributing to journals and edited volumes. Her research highlights the role of sub-state actors (e.g., regional governments and municipalities) in global development agendas and the integration of sustainability principles in cooperative policies. She has also participated in innovation projects like the Ocean Campus Bordeaux-Euskampus initiative.

Her scholarly contributions include a doctoral thesis analyzing the role of Spain’s Autonomous Communities in development cooperation and numerous peer-reviewed articles exploring the added value of decentralized cooperation models. She actively engages with both academic and policy audiences, emphasizing evidence-based approaches to development challenges.