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Professors Miguel Urquiola and Haroon Bhorat join the WIDER Board

The Board of the Institute, comprised of economists, policy makers, and social scientists from different regions of the world, seeks to ensure the highest level of intellectual and scientific excellence, advising on UNU-WIDER’s research programme and activities. The advisory Board is entrusted by the UNU Council.

Miguel Urquiola is Professor of the Department of Economics at the University of Colombia. His research focuses on the economics of education, with a focus on understanding how schools and universities compete, and how they form reputations for quality. Prior to joining the University of Columbia, he held appointments at Cornell University’s Economics Department, the World Bank’s research department, the Bolivian government, and the Bolivian Catholic University.

Haroon Bhorat is Professor at the School of Economics of the University of Cape Town. His research interests cover labor economics, poverty and income distribution and he has published more than 150 academic journal articles, book chapters and working papers. He has undertaken extensive work for several South African government departments most notably the South African Department of Labor, the Presidency and the National Treasury. Bhorat has also collaborated in UNU-WIDER project Understanding the African lions – growth traps and opportunities in six dominant African economies.

In addition to new appointments, WIDER Board member Dr Zhu Lin’s appointment was extended for a second four-year period. She works as a research fellow in the Institute of Economics at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Her main research interests are poverty reduction, social protection and rural development issues.

Congratulations to Zhu Lin and a warm welcome to the UNU-WIDER family to Miguel Urquiola and Haroon Bhorat!