Speaker Biographies (in order of presentation)

Nicholas Stern
Former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank
For more information please see the following website: http://econ.worldbank.org/bios.php?id=1634

Amartya Sen
Nobel Laureate in Economics for 1998. Lamont University Professor at Harvard University. Formerly, he was Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. He is a Past President of the American Economic Association, the Indian Economic Association, the International Economic Association, and the Econometric Society. His publications include Collective Choice and Social Welfare (1970), On Economic Inequality (1973), Poverty and Famines (1981), On Ethics and Economics (1987), Inequality Reexamined (1992), Development as Freedom (1999), and Rationality and Freedom (2003). , former Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. Currently Lamont University Professor at Harvard University.

Video Interview with Professor Sen on his life and work.

Arjun Appadurai
is Provost of New School University where he is also the Dewey Professor of Social Sciences. His research focuses on cultural dimensions of globalization. He is currently working on a study of grassroots globalization with a special focus on transnational housing activists and on a study on new forms of global violence.

Kaushik Basu
is C. Marks Professor of International Studies and Professor of Economics in the Department of Economics, Cornell University; Ithaca.

Debraj Ray
is Professor of Economics and Director of Graduate Studies in Economics at New York University.

Stephen Gudeman
is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota. His research focuses on the anthropology of economy, and he has undertaken fieldwork in Panama, Colombia, and Guatemala. He is currently working on the way community and market together make up economy; on the concept of economy's base; and on rhetoric and representation in economy.

Mamphela Ramphele
is a Managing Director of the World Bank and oversees the Bank's activities in health, education, social protection and information technology. Dr. Ramphele started her career in the seventies as a student activist in the Black Consciousness Movement. She has worked as a medical doctor, civil rights leader, community development worker, academic researcher, and a university administrator. She joined the University of Cape Town as a research fellow in 1986, and was appointed deputy vice-chancellor five years later. In September 1996 she took up her post as vice chancellor, becoming the first black woman to hold this position at a South African university. She is also the immediate past chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Independent Development Trust (IDT), the largest development capacity building NGO in South Africa, as well as the Advisory Board of the World Bank's Economic Development Institute.

Simon Harragin
is a Consultant and Writer on Anthropology and Development issues based in Paris. His research focuses on the East and Central Africa region, and on the delivery of aid in humanitarian emergencies. He is currently involved in a study looking at the relevance and meaning of 'community participation' in emergency situations.

Jean-Philippe Platteau
Jean-Philippe Platteau is Professor of economics and member of CRED (Centre de Recherche en Economie du Developpement) at the University of Namur,Belgium. Most of his work has been concerned with the understanding of the role of institutions in economic development, and the processes of institutional change. The influence of non economic factors and various frontier issues at the interface between economics and sociology are a central focus of his research projects. He has written numerous articles in academic journals and published several books, including Halting Degradation of Natural Resources - Is There a Role for Rural Communities? (Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1995) with J.M. Baland, and Institutions, Social Norms, and Economic Development (Harwood Publishers and Routledge, London, 2000)

Keith Hart
is Senior Research Fellow at The Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research, University of Aberdeen, Scotland. He lives in Paris. His research focuses on global and local development; informal economy; economic anthropology; and money. He has recently published Money in an Unequal World (Texere, New York and London, 2001) and is writing a book, The Human economy: people, machines and money in our time.

Michael Kremer
is Professor of Economics at Harvard University.

Tia (Kreszentia) Duer
is New Business Development Leader in the Social Development Department of the World Bank.

Lourdes Arizpe
is Professor of Anthropology at the Centro Regional Multidisciplinario of the National University of Mexico and led UNESCO’s first World Culture Report for 1998. She is also the Vice-President of the International Social Science Council. Her research has focused on issues of culture, development, migration, and women.

Arjo Klamer
is Professor in the Economics of Art and Culture at Erasmus University.

Sabina Alkire
is Research Writer for the Commission on Human Security co-chaired by Amartya Sen and Sadako Ogata, and Senior Research Associate with the Von Hugel Institute, University of Cambridge. Her research for the Commission has focused on the concept of human security, as well as the relationship between participation and human security, and trade in armaments. Other research focuses on the capabilities approach, in particular on the value judgments and public debate that it entails, and precisely how it is individualist.

Michael Cernea
joined the World Bank in 1974 as its first in-house sociologist and worked as the Bank's Senior Adviser for Sociology and Social Policy until 1997. He has a Ph.D. in sociology and social philosophy, has taught and lectured in universities in Europe and the United States, has been a visiting scholar at Harvard and other universities, and was appointed Honorary Professor for Resettlement and Social studies at Hohai University in Nanjing, China. He has written and edited numerous books and studies on development, social change, population resettlement, social forestry, grassroots organizations, and participation including Putting People First: Sociological Variables in Development (1985, 1991).

For more information please see the following website: http://www.his.com/~mesas/irr_model/cernea_bio.htm

Yonas Admassu
is Assistant Professor of Literature in the Department of Ethiopian Languages & Literature, Institute of Language Studies, at Addis Ababa University. He received his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles. His research interests are mainly in literary theory and criticism, cultural studies, and to some extent folklore. He is currently engaged in exploring the Ethiopian Orthodox Church literature in Old Ethiopic (Ge'ez, as it is known locally).

Ian Goldin
is Vice-President for External Relations at the World Bank and was formerly Director, Development Policy. He rejoined the Bank in February 2001 after five years as Chief Executive of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). He led the transformation of the DBSA, which is now commercially independent and a prime catalyst for investment in the 14 countries of Southern Africa. Before this, Mr. Goldin worked as Principal Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), in country operations at the World Bank, and at the OECD, where he led the trade and development program.

Mary Douglas
retired as professor of Anthropology at University College London, and has taught at Northwestern University and Princeton University. Early in her career she focused almost exclusively on Africa, and then turned increasingly to broader theoretical and comparative issues. She has written several books and articles including Purity and Danger (1966) which was listed in the London Times as one of the one hundred books that have influenced Western public discourse since the Second World War. Her second book, Natural Symbols (1970), won her international attention and remains one of the single most important contributions to the theoretical analysis of culture. In a recent convocation at the University of Pennsylvania where she received an honorary doctorate she was described as, "without a doubt, one of the leading and most influential anthropologists of the twentieth century. Her work is essential to anyone who is trained in social and culture studies, and it will be read for generations to come."

Marco Verweij
is a Research Fellow at the Max Planck Project Group on Common Goods in Bonn, Germany. In his research he attempts to contribute to the development of social theory that assumes that, yes, the world is socially constructed, but not in an infinite number of ways. He is currently writing a monograph entitled "A Snowball against Global Warming, or, What to Do after the Breakdown of the Kyoto Protocol" and is also organizing a book project entitle "Clumsy Solutions for a Complex World", in which political scientists, economists, lawyers, and anthropologists spell out and test the implications for public policy of the cultural theory pioneered by Mary Douglas in a variety of issues.

For more information please see the following website: http://www.mpp-rdg.mpg.de/verweij.html

Shelton Davis
is the Sector Manager for Social Development, Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development Department, Latin America and Caribbean Region at the World Bank. The Social Development Unit is responsible for ensuring regional compliance with the World Bank's social safeguard policies on indigenous peoples, involuntary resettlement, and cultural property; and for providing analytical and operational support for World Bank-financed investments in indigenous peoples and Afro-descendant development, youth and social development, poverty reduction and social inclusion, peace and violence prevention, and local community and civil society participation. Prior to taking up his current position, Dr. Davis served as the Principal Sociologist in the central Social Development Department of the World Bank (1997-1998); as one of the founding members of a unit established in the central Environment Department to increase the social-soundness of World Bank-funded development projects (1993-1997); and, as a member of an inter-disciplinary unit responsible for reviewing and assessing World Bank policies relating to indigenous peoples, resettlement and environmental assessment (1991-1993).

Fernando Calderón
is International Adviser on Human Development to the United Nations Development Programme for Bolivia and Professor of Sociology at the University Oberta of Catalunya. His research focuses on politics, culture and development. He is currently working on/involved with studies on the information era in collaboration with Manuel Castells, a Human Development Report entitled Bolivia in the Information Economy and Society, and a regional report on democracy and development in Latin America.

Glenn C. Loury
is currently University Professor, Professor of Economics, and founding Director of the Institute on Race and Social Division at Boston University. His research focuses on the theory of economic inequality and the political economy of race. His new book, "The Anatomy of Racial Inequality" was just published by Harvard University Press. He is currently working on a study of university admissions policies entitled "color-blind affirmative action".

Andreas Eshete
is President and UNESCO Chair for Human Rights and Democracy. Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa.

Mieko Nishimizu
was the Regional Vice-President for South Asia at the World Bank.

Monica Das Gupta
is Senior Social Scientist in the research department of the World Bank. She is currently working on the organization of public health services at community level in selected countries. On the team of the World Development Report 2000/1 on Poverty, she had primary responsibility for the chapters on state institutions and social institutions. She represents the Research Group on the Gender Sector Board. Prior to joining the World Bank, she taught at Harvard University (1991-98), and managed research on social and human development at the National Council for Applied Economic Research in New Delhi, India (1982-1991).

For more information please see the following website: http://econ.worldbank.org/programs/public_services/people/person?id=2529

Carol Jenkins
is Asia/Near East Regional HIV Advisor for USAID, based in Cambodia. Her work focuses on HIV prevention and care, especially among marginalized groups. She is currently involved with developing HIV prevention programs in Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, and Papua New Guinea.

Hnin Hnin Pyne
is Public Health Specialist with South Asia Human Development Unit at the World Bank. She is currently working on HIV/AIDS projects and assessments in Sri Lanka and Bhutan . Prior to joining the Bank, her research focused on vulnerability to HIV among Burmese populations in Thailand, in particular women and girls trafficked into sex work and migrant workers.

Jeffrey Hammer
is a Lead Economist in the Development Research Group (Public Services Team) at the World Bank. His recent research has focused on efficiency and equity in public expenditures, particularly for the social sectors. Mr. Hammer's research support of operations has been in poverty, and health and education policies in a variety of countries, including the analysis of survey data on the effects of safe water and sanitation on mortality, especially of the poor.

For more information please see the following website: http://econ.worldbank.org/bios.php?id=2526

Kamala Chandrakirana
is the Secretary General of the Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women. This independent national commission was established by Presidential Decree for the elimination of all forms of violence against women in Indonesia through legal reform, public education, documentation, and capacity building. Kamala Chandrakirana has a long professional career in public action on issues of human rights and poverty.

For more information please see the following website: http://www.komnasperempuan.or.id

Jozef Ritzen
is President of the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands. He was formely Vice President of the Human Development Network at the World Bank, having joined the Bank in September 1998 as special adviser to the Human Development Network. Before coming to the Bank, he was minister of education, culture, and science in The Netherlands. He has made major contributions to the work of such agencies as United Nations Education al, Scientific and Cultural Organization and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, particularly in the development of thinking about the role of education in social cohesion. Prior to his appointment as minister in 1989, Mr. Ritzen held academic positions with Nijmegen University and Erasmus University in The Netherlands, and the University of California at Berkeley and the Robert M. LaFollette Institute of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States.

Vijayendra Rao
is a Lead Economist with the Development Research Group of the World Bank. He received his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and taught at the University of Michigan and Williams College before moving to the Development Research Group. He combines his training in economics with an interest in anthropology and social theory. He has published several articles in economics, development studies and demography on topics ranging from dowries to democratic decentralization - but within four broad themes: gender inequality, culture and development, local development, and mixed-methods. His current research includes a study of poverty in Indian slums, evaluations of community driven development projects, and a study on the impact of decentralizing power to democratically elected village governments (Panchayats) in India. He serves on the editorial boards of Economic Development Cultural Change and The Journal of Development Studies. Website: http://www.cultureandpublicaction.org/vrao.htm

Michael Walton
Michael Walton is Lecturer in International Development in the Kennedy School at Harvard University. His courses at Harvard explore the issues and challenges that face low- and middle-income countries. Prior to joining the school Walton was at the World Bank, where he worked for more than 20 years as an economist in various countries including Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, West Bank and Gaza, and Zimbabwe. He was the deputy leader for the 1990 World Development Report on Poverty, economic adviser to two Chief Economists of the World Bank, director for the 1995 World Development Report on labor, Chief Economist for the East Asia and Pacific Region during 1995 to 1997, and Director for Poverty Reduction during 1997 to 2000. His latest publications are Inequality in Latin America (World Bank, 2004), an edited volume on Culture and Public Action (Stanford University Press, 2004), a study on Poverty in Mexico (World Bank, 2004), and the World Development Report 2006 on Equity and Development (World Bank, 2005). Walton has a degree in philosophy and economics, and a master's in economics, from Oxford University. Website: http://ksgfaculty.harvard.edu/michael_walton

Alexandre Marc
is sector Manager for Social Development in the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. He joined the World Bank in 1988 where he worked on local and social development in Africa, the Middle East and Europe and Central Asia. His publications focus on institutions supporting community development and participation and on the non economic dimension of poverty. He has designed and supervised a number of community development projects using social investment fund approaches and has contributed through a number of studies and evaluation to the development of new operational instruments in this area. The Social development Team that he is managing since 1999 focuses on the analysis of civil society, social capital and local level institutions, culture, social inclusion, minority issues and conflict in the Europe and Central Asia region.

Isabel Guerrero
is the Country Director for Mexico, Columbia and Venezeula at the World Bank.

Deepa Narayan
is Senior Adviser in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network of the World Bank. In that capacity she works on issues of participation, social capital and empowerment as related to poverty reduction. She is the lead author and team leader for the Voices of the Poor initiative. The research findings have been published in a three-part World Bank book series by Oxford University Press. Deepa Narayan has over 20 years development experience in Asia and Africa and has worked for NGOs, national governments and the UN system.

Andrew Steer
is the Country Director for Indonesia at the World Bank.

David Dollar
is the Research Manager for the Bank's Development Research Group's macroeconomics and growth team. His contributions to the aid effectiveness research covered the impact of aid on growth and poverty, how aid could be reallocated to have a larger effect on poverty reduction, and the impact of structural adjustment lending and conditionality on policy reform. His current work focuses on the impact of different institutions and policies on inequality and poverty. In particular, he is investigating the impact of globalization -- openness to trade and capital flows -- on growth, inequality, and poverty.

Karla Hoff
is a Senior Research Economist in the Bank’s Development Research Group. She has a joint appointment on the Regulation and Competition Policy Team and the Rural Development Team. Her current research tries to explain how various kinds of non-market institutions develop, and then reevaluates standard policy prescriptions within environments shaped by those non-market institutions. Before joining the World Bank, she taught at the University of Maryland and Princeton. She has a PhD in economics from Princeton; an MA in law and economics from The Fletcher School, Tufts University; and a BA in French from Wellesley College.

For more information please see the following website: http://www.worldbank.org/research/bios/khoff.htm

Michael Woolcock
is a Senior Social Scientist with the Development Research
Group at the World Bank, and an adjunct lecturer in public policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. His research focuses on social networks (in particular their role in the survival and mobility strategies of the poor), political institutions, and policy responses to improving service delivery. He is currently completing a book for Princeton University Press on social capital and economic development, and a number of research papers on political economy.

For more information please see the following website: http://econ.worldbank.org/bios.php?id=2700

Peter Lanjouw
is a Lead Economist in the Development Economics Research Group of the World Bank, and Fellow of the Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam. He completed his Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics in 1992. From September 1998 until May, 2000 he held the appointment of Professor of Economics at the Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. He has also taught in the Masters in Development Economics program at the University of Namur, Belgium. To date his research has focused on various aspects of poverty and inequality measurement, as well as on rural development issues.