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UNU-WIDER Director-Designate named


UNU-WIDER is pleased to announce that, following a highly successful 10 years under the leadership of Professor Finn Tarp, the Institute’s next director has been named. Professor Kunal Sen will join the Institute as Director-Designate on 1 September 2018, taking the helm as Director starting 1 January 2019. 

Internationally recognised for his research excellence and extensive academic publications, Professor Sen is widely regarded as a leading expert in his field. He is currently Professor of Development Economics at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester, and Joint Research Director for the Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre. Professor Sen has substantial experience directing and managing global research consortia, and has served in advisory roles with national governments and bilateral and multilateral development agencies, including the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Professor Sen holds a PhD in Economics from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and is the co-editor of Deals and Development: The Political Dynamics of Growth Episodes (2018); co-author of The Political Economy of India’s Growth Episodes (2016), and Out of the Shadows: The Informal Sector in Post-Reform India (2016); and author of Trade Policy, Inequality and Performance in Indian Manufacturing (2008).