Professor Finn Tarp of Denmark has been appointed as the next Director of the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER). Director-Designate Tarp will take up the post on 1 September 2009. He succeeds Prof. Anthony Shorrocks, who served as UNU-WIDER Director from 1 January 2001 through 30 April 2009.

UNU-WIDER, based in Helsinki, Finland, undertakes applied research and policy analysis on global development, poverty and inequality issues. The Director has overall responsibility for the research and management of the Institute.

Prof. Finn Tarp, UNU-WIDER Director-Designate

“I am honored to have been selected for the post of Director of UNU-WIDER,” said Prof. Tarp. “High-quality development economics research and education have a key role to play in furthering socio-economic development in a global economy faced with many challenges.”

Since 2002, Prof. Tarp has been Professor of Development Economics with the Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen, and since 2006 has also served as Chair in Development Economics. Prior to that, he taught at the Institute of Economics, University of Copenhagen  (1988–2002)  and worked in Mozambique  (1980–1988).

Prof. Tarp grew up in Aalborg, Denmark. He holds M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Economics from the University of Copenhagen. His research interests include development economics; poverty, income distribution, and growth; micro- and macro-economic policy and modeling; agricultural sector policy and planning; and international development assistance. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and has written or edited several books.

“I welcome Prof. Tarp to the UNU family,” said UNU Rector Konrad Osterwalder. “I am confident that he will take the UNU’s leading development economics institute in Helsinki to a new level of quality, activity, and outreach.”