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Professor Ravi Kanbur is the new Chair of the WIDER Board
From left to right: President Martti Ahtisaari, WIDER Annual lecturer 2013; Elsle Kanza, Head of Africa at the World Economic Forum; Martin Ravallion, Georgetown University; and Ravi Kanbur, Cornell University.
To mark his appointment, Professor Kanbur states:
'I am pleased and honoured to succeed Ernest Aryeetey as the Chair of the UNU-WIDER Board. Ernest has been truly excellent in his term as Chair, and I hope to follow his example in chairing the Board to provide valuable advice and guidance to UNU-WIDER. I have had a long and fruitful association with UNU-WIDER. I was one of the first visitors to UNU-WIDER when it started up in 1985; I have been a member of UNU-WIDER projects, a leader of UNU-WIDER projects, and most recently a member of its Board. Throughout this period UNU-WIDER has moved with the times to address the pressing development issues of the day—including structural adjustment in the 1980s, transition economies in the 1990s, wealth and income inequality in the 2000s, and climate change in the 2010s. New development challenges keep emerging alongside old ones, and I have no doubt that UNU-WIDER’s portfolio will also evolve to reflect the leading policy issues where high-quality independent research can make a difference. I look forward to working with Director Finn Tarp and UNU-WIDER staff to further enhance the Institute's already excellent reputation.'
Ravi Kanbur is the T.H. Lee Professor of World Affairs, International Professor of Applied Economics and Management, and Professor of Economics at Cornell University. His main research interests include development economics, public economics and economic theory, and he has over 250 publications, covering a wide range of topics in Development Economics, particularly in the area of inequality and poverty. Professor Kanbur has published in leading economics journals including the American Economic Review, Journal of Political Economy, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Economic Theory, and Economic Journal. His latest book is on Development Ideas.
Professor Kanbur has a particular interest in bridging the worlds of rigorous analysis and practical policy-making. For an interview with Professor Kanbur on assessing inclusive growth, see below.