Ravi Kanbur researches and teaches in development economics, public economics, and economic theory. He is well known for his role in policy analysis and engagement in international development. He has served on the senior staff of the World Bank including as chief economist for Africa. He has also published in the leading economics journals, including Journal of Political Economy, American Economic Review, Review of Economic Studies, Journal of Economic Theory and Economic Journal.

Kanbur is president of the Human Development and Capabilities Association, chair of the Board of United Nations University-World Institute for Development Economics Research, co-chair of the Scientific Council of the International Panel on Social Progress, member of the OECD High Level Expert Group on the Measurement of Economic Performance, past president of the Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, past member of the High Level Advisory Council of the Climate Justice Dialogue, and past member of the Core Group of the Commission on Global Poverty.

Selected Publications

Kanbur, Ravi; Ingelaere, B.; Christiaensen, L.; De Weerdt, J. "Why secondary towns can be important for poverty reduction – A migrant perspective"World Development. 105 (2018): 273-282
Kanbur, Ravi. "W. Arthur Lewis and the Roots of Ghanaian Economic Policy"The Economy of Ghana Sixty Years After Independence. Oxford University Press. WP2016-06 (2017)
Bhorat, Haroon; Kanbur, Ravi; Stanwix, Benjamin. "Minimum Wages in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Primer"World Bank Research Observer. 32.1 (2017): 21-74
Kanbur, Ravi. "Tony Atkinson and What Can Be Done About Inequality"Journal of Economic Inequality. 15.2 (2017): 115–119
Kanbur, Ravi; Stiglitz, Joseph. "Dynastic Inequality, Mobility and Equality of Opportunity"Journal of Economic Inequality. 14.4 (2016): 419-434
Kanbur, Ravi. "The End of Laissez-Faire, the End of History, and the Structure of Scientific Revolutions"Challenge. 59.1 (2016): 35-46
Kanbur, Ravi. "Bien Publics Mondiaux et Institutions Internationale: Quel Avenir Pour La Banque Mondiale?"Revue d'Economie du Developpement. 24.3 (2016): 9-24
Wagstaff, Adam; Kanbur, Ravi. "Inequality of Opportunity: The New Motherhood and Apple Pie?"Health Economics. 24.10 (2015): 1243-1247
Antonio M. Bento, Antonio; Kanbur, Ravi; Leard, Benjamin. "Designing Efficient Markets for Carbon Offsets with Distributional Constraints"Journal of Environmental Economics and Management. 70 (2015): 51-71
Basu, Arnab; Chau, Nancy H.; Kanbur, Ravi. "Contractual Dualism, Market Power and Informality"Economic Journal. 125.589 (2015): 1534–1573

Awards and Honors

1986 paper with Joseph Stiglitz designated a “classic” by Journal of Economic Inequality (2016)

Academic Degrees

PhD University of Oxford, 1981
MA University of Cambridge, 1979
PhM University of Oxford, 1977
BA University of Cambridge, 1975