ACE Development Connections

(Still under construction )

Economists

The following persons identify themselves as Christian economists who are interested in expanding their contact with Christian development practitioners. If you would like to add your name to this list, please email the website co-directors by clicking here. Request a posting form, on which you can give your name, contact information (including webpages), and several phrases describing your interests and expertise. If you are looking for an opportunity to collaborate, have a prospective collaborative project, or are involved in an on-going collaborative project, you may include a brief description. Economists and practitioners are invited to browse the lists, in search of contacts for conversation and collaboration.

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Name: Christopher B. (Chris) Barrett
Organization: Cornell University
Address: 315 Warren Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853-7801 USA
Telephone: 607-255-4489
Email address: cbb2@cornell.edu
Webpage url: http://aem.cornell.edu/faculty_sites/cbb2/

General areas in which you would like to collaborate (topics and regions).

• sustainable agricultural intensification
• food aid
• improving market access
• poverty dynamics

Brief description of relevant experience and/or training in these areas: Extensive research experience in micro- and meso-level development issues, especially in Africa. See web site for details.

Related publications (no more than 8):

• Christopher B. Barrett, Michael R. Carter and Peter D. Little, editors, Understanding and Reducing Persistent Poverty in Africa (London: Routledge, 2006).
• Christopher B. Barrett and Daniel G. Maxwell, Food Aid After Fifty Years: Recasting Its Role (London: Routledge, 2005).
• Christopher B. Barrett, editor, The Social Economics of Poverty: On Identities, Groups, Communities and Networks (London: Routledge, 2005).
• Uma Lele, Christopher B. Barrett, Carl K. Eicher, Bruce Gardner, Christopher Gerrard, Lauren Kelly, William Lesser, Karin Perkins, Saeed Rana, Mandivamba Rukuni and David J. Spielman, The CGIAR at 31:An Independent Meta-Evaluation of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. 3 volumes. (Washington: World Bank, 2003).
• Christopher B. Barrett, Frank Place, and Abdillahi A. Aboud, editors, Natural Resources Management in African Agriculture: Understanding and Improving Current Practices (CAB International, 2002).
• David R. Lee and Christopher B. Barrett, editors, Tradeoffs or Synergies? Agricultural Intensification, Economic Development and the Environment in Developing Countries (CAB International, 2000).
• See web site for full vita.

Brief description of any ongoing or previous collaborations with an international relief and development organization:

• Extensive work with CARE International on food aid, resulting in book and several articles on the topic with Dan Maxwell of CARE. Close work with OXFAM on same topic and more modest interaction with Catholic Relief Services, ActionAid and World Vision on food aid issues. Participated in NGO Executives Forum 2005 – annual meeting of NGO CEOs on matters of common concern.
• Through a graduate student, collaborative work with indigenous NGO Tefy Saina to research adoption patterns of the system of rice intensification (SRI) and the yield and risk effects of SRI in Madagascar.
• Informal consultations with various NGOs working among pastoralists in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia – CARE, Save the Children, Food for the Hungry, FARM Africa, Kenya Rural Enterprise Program – on using our team’s research results for the design of development and emergency relief interventions.

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Name: Paul Glewwe
Organization: Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota
Address: 1994 Buford Ave., St, Paul, MN 55108
Telephone: 612-625-0225
Email address: pglewwe@umn.edu
Webpage url: http://www.apec.umn.edu/Paul_Glewwe.html

General areas in which you would like to collaborate (topics and regions).

• Primary Education Child health
• Poverty reduction
• Asia, Africa, Latin America.

• The Economics of School Quality Investments in Developing Countries: An Empirical Study of Ghana. MacMillan Press, U.K. 1999.
• “An Economic Analysis of Delayed Primary School Enrollment in a Low Income Country: The Role of Early Childhood Nutrition” (with Hanan Jacoby). Review of Economics and Statistics, February, 1995.
• “Why Does Mother’s Schooling Raise Child Health in Developing Countries? Evidence from Morocco”. Journal of Human Resources, Winter, 1999.
• “Early Childhood Nutrition and Academic Achievement: A Longitudinal Analysis” (with Hanan Jacoby and Elizabeth King). Journal of Public Economics. September, 2001.
• "Schools and Skills in Developing Countries: Education Policies and Socioeconomic
  Outcomes" Journal of Economic Literature 40(2):436-482. June, 2002.
• Economic Growth, Poverty, and Household Welfare in Vietnam (co-edited with Nisha Agrawal and David Dollar). The World Bank, Washington D.C., 2004.
• “Academic Research and Education Projects: Determining What Schools Need”, in Dean, Judith M., Julie Schaffner and Stephen L.S. Smith (eds.), Attacking Poverty in the Developing World: Christian Practitioners and Academics in Collaboration, World Vision and Authentic Media, 2005.
• Using Multi-Topic Household Surveys to Improve Poverty Reduction Policies in Developing Countries”, in Household Sample Surveys in Developing and Transition Countries. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. 2005.

Brief description of any ongoing or previous collaborations with an international relief and development organization:

• Along with a team of people organized by Michael Kremer at Harvard University, I have worked with the Dutch NGO, ICS (Internationaal Christelijk Steunfonds).
• As indicated above, I also worked for the World Bank for 13 years (1986-99).
• I have consulted for, the Asian Development Bank, the International Labor Office, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Statistics Division, and the World Bank.

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Name: Roland Hoksbergen
Organization: Calvin College
Address: Department of Economics and Business, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
Telephone: 616-526-6369
Email address: hoksro@calvin.edu

General areas in which you would like to collaborate (topics and regions).

• NGOs
• Civil society
• North-South partnerships
• Micro-enterprise
• Philosophy/theology of development

Brief description of relevant experience and/or training in these areas:
Since 1976 when I first worked in post-earthquake reconstruction in Guatemala, I have understood human development in a holistic, integrated way. Faith is an important part of this perspective and the work I have done on partnership, civil society, and NGOs reflects this. I lived and travelled through Central America for a total of seven years. For two years in the mid 1990s I worked as a development consultant in Nicaragua for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. I worked with five different local partners in program development and evaluation, with an emphasis on community banking and micro enterprise. I have also participated in several program and country evaluations. I currently teach college courses on Theories of Development, Economies of Latin America and Perspectives on International Development.

Related publications (no more than 8):

Brief description of any ongoing or previous collaborations with an international relief and development organization:
I worked with the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee on various occasions on such issues as civil society, partnership and understanding neoliberalism in a theological context. I led a number of workshop/training sessions on the topics of civil society and neoliberalism and worked with CRWRC in a year-long empirical study of its partnerships around the world.

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Name: Paul E. McNamara
Organization: Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics,
University of Illinois at Urbana--Champaign
Address: 1301 West Gregory Drive, 437 Mumford Hall MC-710, Urbana, Illinois 61801
Telephone: 217-333-3769
Email address: mcnamar1@uiuc.edu
Webpage url: http://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mcnamar1/www/index.htm and
http://www.ace.uiuc.edu/ViewFaculty.aspx?NetID=mcnamar1

General areas in which you would like to collaborate (topics and regions):

• economic evaluation of development projects, policies, and programs;
• HIV/AIDS, nutrition, and food security;
• effectiveness of adult education approaches;
• surveys;
• combined qualitative and quantitative methods in program evaluation;
• health economics;
• public policy.

Brief description of relevant experience and/or training in these areas:

• Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics. Minor in Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration (March 1998)
• Master in Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (1985)
• B.A. Economics, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL. (1983)
• Project Assistant, Harvard Institute for International Development, Economic and Financial Analyses Project (July 1988 - July 1990). Evaluated economic policy proposals for the Minister and Permanent Secretary as a member of a two-person long-term technical assistance team at the Ministry of Finance and Trade, Banjul, The Gambia. Assisted in the preparation of the national budget and in structural adjustment program negotiations with the IMF, World Bank and USAID. Trained Ministry staff in the utilization of personal computers for financial modeling and analysis.
• Macroeconomist with the Experience Inc. Agricultural Sector Review of The Gambia (Fall 1990) performed for USAID/Banjul.
• Consultant to the Ministry of Finance in The Gambia through HIID's EFPA project (January 1992). Produced a report titled "Development Banking in The Gambia."
• Conducted field research for seven months in a B’laan tribal village in South Cotobato Province, the Philippines in conjunction with Human Needs and Global Resources Program (Wheaton College) internship with Project Gamtabeng (1982) and the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches. My research investigated changes in land use and land conflicts and the feasibility of Project interventions to address land tenure issues.
• Additional international development, business and teaching experience in Mexico, American Samoa, and Slovakia.

Related publications (no more than 8):

• McNamara, P. E. "Using Agricultural Economics to Strengthen Non-Governmental Organizations’ Food Security Programs for People Living With HIV/AIDS: An Example from Honduras.” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 87(Number 5, 2005): 1304-09.
• McNamara, Paul E., 2005. “Health Economics and Health Practice” pages 153—170 in Attacking Poverty in the Developing World, edited by Judith M. Dean, Julie Schaffner, and Stephen L.S. Smith, Authentic Media: Waynesboro, Georgia.
• Wilde, Parke, Paul E. McNamara, and Christine K. Ranney. “The Effect of Income and Food Programs on Dietary Quality: A Seemingly Unrelated Regression Analysis with Error Components,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 81 (November 1999), pp. 959-971.
• McNamara, Paul E. “Welfare Effects of Rural Hospital Closures: A Nested Logit Analysis of the Demand for Rural Hospital Services,” American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Vol. 81 (August 1999), pp. 686-691.
• McNamara, Paul E., Christine K. Ranney, Linda Scott Kantor, and Susan M. Krebs-Smith . "The Gap Between Food Intakes and the Pyramid Recommendations: Measurement and Food System Ramifications," Food Policy, Vol. 24, No. 2-3 (April-June), 1999, pp. 117-133.
• McNamara, Paul E. and Parker Shipton, 1995. "Rural Credit and Savings," pp. 95-110 in Economic Recovery in The Gambia: Insights for Adjustment in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. Malcolm F. McPherson and Steven C. Radelet, Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard Institute for International Development, distributed by Harvard University Press.
• McNamara, Paul E. "Welfare Effects of Groundnut Pricing in The Gambia," Food Policy, Vol.17, No.4, August 1992.
• Additional papers, reports, and book chapters on access to health care, effectiveness of public health programs and policies, nutrition, food safety, and economic development.

 

 

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Name: Julie Schaffner
Organization: The Fletcher School, Tufts University
Address: Medford, MA 02155
Telephone: (617) 627-2728
Email address: jschaf01@tufts.edu
Webpage url: http://fletcher.tufts.edu/faculty/schaffner/profile.asp

General areas in which you would like to collaborate (topics and regions):

• evaluation design discussions
• questionnaire design
• data analysis
• program design brainstorming
• background research informing strategy and program design
• joint research involving student interns
• training sessions in data analysis, policy analysis, or development topics
• practitioner talks for students

Brief description of relevant experience and/or training in these areas:
For 20 years I have pursued academic research using econometric analysis of household survey data to shed light on development concerns. Much of my research has involved Latin America, but recent work has shifted my attention toward Africa. After many years at Stanford University I moved to the Fletcher School at Tufts University in 1999. Here I teach two Masters level courses, “Poverty Reduction Policy Analysis for Developing Countries” (which provides students with conceptual tools for systematic and broad analysis of “real world” policies, projects and programs that might be used to reduce poverty or promote development) and “Econometrics”, to Masters students who are deeply involved with development practice. Through teaching and student advising I have developed familiarity with and frameworks for analysis and evaluation of development efforts in diverse areas, including education, health, microfinance, community infrastructure projects, public works employment, and conditional cash transfers.

Related publications (no more than 8):

• “Impact Assessment for Christian Development Organizations”, Chapter 14 in Dean, J., J. Schaffner and S. Smith (eds.), Poverty Reduction in the Developing World, World Vision and Authentic Media, forthcoming (2005)
• “Subjective and Objective Literacy Measures: Implications for Current Results- Oriented Development Initiatives”, International Journal of Educational Development (2005)
• “The Determinants of Schooling Investments Among Primary School Aged Children in Ethiopia,” Africa Region Human Development Working Paper No. 85, World Bank (2004).
• ”The Employment Module and Labor Market Analysis,” in Margaret Grosh and Paul Glewwe (eds.), Designing Household Survey Questionnaires for Developing Countries: Lessons from Ten Years of LSMS Experience, World Bank (2000)

Brief description of any ongoing or previous collaborations with an international relief and development organization:
I have engaged in indirect collaboration, having closely advised many Masters students as they evaluate international development organization programs with which they have been directly involved. I also enjoyed working with Christian practitioners in a range of development organizations when I participated in organizing the ACE 20th Anniversary Conference and editing the book that grew out of the conference. I would be pleased to get involved more directly, whether by engaging in informal conversations, providing feedback on documents, jointly putting Masters student interns to work in research or evaluation, or working out more ambitious academic-practitioner collaborations.

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Name: Judith M. Dean
Organization: Research Division, Office of Economics , US International Trade Commission
Address: 500 E St. , SW,
Washington , DC 20436
Telephone: 202-205-3051
Email address: Judith.Dean@usitc.gov
Webpage url: www.usitc.gov

General areas in which you would like to collaborate (topics and regions):

• trade liberalization
• trade and environment
• international market access
• qualitative and quantitative program assessment
• Asia, Africa

Brief description of relevant experience and/or training in these areas:
As a professor of economics at SAIS, Johns Hopkins (and at Bowdoin College prior to that), I spent many years teaching international and development economics, as well as statistical research methods applied to trade and development issues. I have published articles in academic journals on trade liberalization in developing countries, trade and the environment, and trade policy. Some of this research was done while I was a Visiting Scholar at the Indian Statistical Institute in New Delhi , India , and some while a consultant to the World Bank. As an International Economist at the ITC, I have assessed the impact of US trade agreements and changes in US trade policy on the well-being of developing countries. This has involved meeting with developing country entrepreneurs and government officials, as well as US government officials.

Related publications (no more than 8):

• “ Quantifying the Value of US Tariff Preferences for Developing Countries” (with J. Wainio), World Bank Discussion Paper, forthcoming.
•  “Why Trade Matters for the Poor,” in J. Dean, J. Schaffner, and S. Smith, Attacking Poverty in the Developing World. Georgia : Authentic Media and World Vision, 2005.
• “Are Foreign Investors Attracted to Weak Environmental Regulations: Evaluating the Evidence from China (with M. Lovely and H.Wang). World Bank Working Paper 3505, Feb. 2005.
• “Does Trade Liberalization Harm the Environment? A New Test,” Canadian Journal of Economics , November 2002.
• “The Impact of CB ER A on Beneficiary Countries,” Chapter 4 in USITC, The Impact of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act: Fifteenth Annual Report,1999-2000 , 2001.
• "The Trade Policy Revolution in Developing Countries," World Economy, Global Trade Policy l995 . Reprinted in: C. Milner, ed . Developing and Newly Industrializing Countries , UK : Elgar, 1998.

Brief description of any ongoing or previous collaborations with an international relief and development organization:
Member of Board of Directors, World Relief, 1994-2003: oversaw all programs in the US and abroad; worked closely with senior staff; traveled to Rwanda and Mozambique to meet local staff and review microfinance work.
Consultant to the World Bank, 1991-92, 1993-94, 2004-05: review of the relation between trade, environment, and development; qualitative and quantitative assessment of trade policy changes in 32 developing countries. Joint project with the World Bank and WTO: quantitative assessment of the importance of US trade preference programs for 140 developing and transition economies.

 

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Development Connections serves Christian professionals working in international relief and development organizations, and Christian academics specializing in economic development. We provide links and resources on program design, impact assessment, monitoring and evaluation, and other important aspects of economic development of interest to practitioners and researchers. We also facilitate communication and collaboration between Christian development professionals, Christian NGOs, and individual Christian economists working on economic development. We hope that these Development Connections will enhance the work of all Christians responding to God's call to serve the poor.

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