Dambisa Felicia Moyo, Baroness Moyo (born 2 February 1969)
[Moyo showed a copy of an official document with her date and place of birth as part of a lecture she gave at TEDGlobal 2013, Edinburgh, Scotland. ] is a
Zambian-born economist and author, known for her analysis of
macroeconomics
Macroeconomics (from the Greek prefix ''makro-'' meaning "large" + ''economics'') is a branch of economics dealing with performance, structure, behavior, and decision-making of an economy as a whole.
For example, using interest rates, taxes, and ...
and global affairs.
She has written five books, including four
''New York Times'' bestsellers: ''Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa'' (2009), ''How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly – And the Stark Choices that Lie Ahead'' (2011), ''Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World'' (2012), ''
Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growth – and How to Fix It'' (2018), and ''How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World'' (2021).
Early life and education
Moyo was born in 1969 in
Lusaka
Lusaka (; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was ab ...
, Zambia.
[Moyo, Dambisa]
"Preface"
. Excerpted from ''DEAD AID: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009. Reprinted in '' The Wall Street Journal'', 20 March 2009. She spent some of her childhood in the United States, while her father was pursuing his post graduate education, then returned to Zambia.
She studied chemistry at the
University of Zambia
The University of Zambia (UNZA) is a public university located in Lusaka, Zambia. It is Zambia's largest and oldest learning institution. The university was established in 1965 and officially opened to the public on 12 July 1966. The language of ...
,
and completed her
BS in chemistry in 1991 at
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
in
Washington, D.C. via a scholarship.
She received an
MBA in finance from the university in 1993.
[Curley, Robert]
"Moyo, Dambisa"
. In: ''Britannica Book of the Year 2013''. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. p. 97.[Dambisa F. Moyo BSc, MPA, MBA, Ph.D.]
– Executive Profile at '' Bloomberg''.
She acquired a
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...
(MPA) degree at
Harvard University's
John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997.
In 2002 she received a
DPhil in economics from
St Antony's College,
Oxford University.
[Dambisa Moyo]
. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
Career
World Bank and Goldman Sachs
Following her MBA, Moyo worked at the
World Bank from May 1993 to September 1995.
[ She was a ]consultant
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servic ...
in the bank's Europe, Central Asia and Africa departments, and co-authored the World Bank's annual World Development Report.[
After pursuing her MPA and PhD, Moyo joined ]Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs () is an American multinational investment bank and financial services company. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is headquartered at 200 West Street in Lower Manhattan, with regional headquarters in London, Warsaw, Bangalore, H ...
as a research economist and strategist in 2001.[Elmhirst, Sophie]
"The NS Interview: Dambisa Moyo, economist"
. '' New Statesman''. 5 March 2010. Accessed 11 July 2015. She was with the company until November 2008, working mainly in debt capital markets, hedge funds coverage, and global macroeconomics. Part of her tenure at Goldman Sachs was spent advising developing countries on the issuing of bonds on the international market.[Solomon, Deborah]
"The Anti-Bono"
. '' The New York Times Magazine''. 19 February 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015. She was also head of economic research and strategy for sub-Saharan Africa.
Board memberships
After leaving Goldman Sachs, Moyo joined the board of directors of the international brewer SABMiller
SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's ...
in 2009. She is also a former board member of Barclays Bank,["Barclays Board change"]
. ''Newsroom.Barclays.com''. 22 April 2010. Accessed 11 July 2015. the international mining company Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...
,[Board of Directors](_blank)
. Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...
. ''Barrick.com''. Retrieved 11 July 2015.["One-on-one with Dambisa Moyo, Barrick Gold's newest Board member"](_blank)
. ''Barrick Beyond Borders''. Barrick Gold
Barrick Gold Corporation is a mining company that produces gold and copper with 16 operating sites in 13 countries. It is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has mining operations in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Democrati ...
. 26 August 2011. Accessed 11 July 2015. and the data storage company Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology Holdings plc is an American data storage company. It was incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology and commenced business in 1979. Since 2010, the company has been incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquart ...
.
As of 2022, she is on the boards of Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation. The second-largest direct descendant of Standard Oil, and originally known as the Standard Oil Company of California (shortened to Socal or CalSo), it is headquartered in S ...
, 3M Company. and Condé Nast.
Moyo is also a former board member of the charities Lundin for Africa and Room to Read.
She is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Global Economic Imbalances, and the Bretton Woods Committee.
Journalism and public speaking
Moyo is a public speaker, commentator, and columnist. She has written for international financial and economic journals, periodicals, and publications, including ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''Financial Times'', ''The New York Times'', and ''Time''.
She has lectured at financial and economic summits, forums, and conferences, including the annual World Economic Forum conference in Davos
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Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...
,[Dambisa Moyo]
. UN Leaders Programme. United Nations. May 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015. the Council on Foreign Relations
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
, the American Enterprise Institute, the annual Bilderberg Conference
The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defin ...
, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...
(OECD), the Aspen Institute
The Aspen Institute is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1949 as the Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies. The institute's stated aim is the realization of "a free, just, and equitable society" through seminars, policy programs ...
, and the Ambrosetti Forum. She also speaks at venues including TEDTalks and BBCs '' HARDtalk'',[Dambisa Moyo](_blank)
. ''Speakers.com''. Retrieved 4 June 2015.[Speaker Brief for Dr. Dambisa Moyo]
. ''DambisaMoyo.com''. Retrieved 3 June 2015. and is a commentator on business-news television networks.
It was announced on 14 October 2022, that as part of the 2022 Special Honours
As part of the British honours system, Special Honours are issued at the Monarch's pleasure at any given time. The Special Honours refer to the awards made within royal prerogative, operational honours, political honours and other honours awarded ...
, Moyo would receive a life peerage. On 8 November 2022, she was created Baroness Moyo, ''of Knightsbridge in the City of Westminster''.
Awards and honors
* World Economic Forum Young Global Leader (2009)[Young Global Leader Honorees 2009]
. World Economic Forum. Retrieved 19 May 2015.
* ''Time'' 100 (2009)[Wolfowitz, Paul]
"The 2009 Time 100: Dambisa Moyo"
. '' Time''. 30 April 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015.[The 2009 Time 100 – Full List]
. '' Time''. 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015.
* Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...
's '' O'' First-Ever Power List (2009)["The Power of Going Against the Grain: Dambisa Moyo, Economist and provocateur"](_blank)
. In: ''O''s First-Ever Power List. '' O, The Oprah Magazine''. September 2009. Accessed 11 July 2015.
* Hayek Lifetime Achievement Award (2013)
* '' GQ'' and ''Editorial Intelligence''s The 100 Most Connected Women (2014)
* '' Handelsblatt''s 25 Great Thinkers (2015)
*'' Evening Standard'': London's Most Influential People (2015), (2016), (2017)
Books
''Dead Aid''
Moyo's first book, ''Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There is Another Way for Africa'' (2009), became a ''New York Times'' bestseller.[Best Sellers – Hardcover Nonfiction]
. '' The New York Times''. 12 April 2009. It argues that government-to-government foreign aid
In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another.
Ai ...
has harmed Africa and should be phased out. In the book she states that in the past 50 years, more than $1 trillion in development-related aid has been transferred from rich countries to Africa, and questions whether anything has changed.
The book suggests that official development assistance (ODA), as opposed to humanitarian aid, perpetuates the cycle of poverty and hinders economic growth in Africa.[Gueye, Lika]
"The Secrets of Their Success: Damibsa Moyo, Economist and author"
. '' Finance & Development''. International Monetary Fund. June 2013. pp. 25–26.[Wallis, William]
"Lunch with the FT: Dambisa Moyo"
. '' Financial Times''. 30 January 2009. It offers developing countries proposals for financial development instead of relying on foreign government-to-government aid.
The '' Financial Times'' summarized the book's argument, stating "Limitless development assistance to African governments, oyo Oyo can refer to:
Places Nigeria
* Oyo Empire, a former Yoruba state that covered parts of Nigeria and Benin, or the capital city
* Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire
* Oyo, Oyo State, a city founded in the 18 ...
argues, has fostered dependency, encouraged corruption and ultimately perpetuated poor governance and poverty."[Wallis, William]
"Foreign aid critic spreads theory far and fast"
. '' Financial Times''. 23 May 2009.
''How the West Was Lost''
Moyo's second book, ''How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly – And the Stark Choices that Lie Ahead'' (2011), became a ''New York Times'' bestseller, debuting at No. 6.[''The New York Times Book Review'': Print Hardcover Best Sellers]
'' The New York Times''. 6 March 2011.
In a review in '' The Observer'', Paul Collier wrote that "her diagnosis of the recent disasters in financial markets is succinct and sophisticated". '' The Guardian'' stated, "''How the West Was Lost'' is more interesting, wider in scale and more important than ''Dead Aid''."
In contrast, Alan Beattie of the ''Financial Times'' wrote, "The challenges it identifies are for the most part real, if not original. But the huge flaws of the emerging economies are ignored." '' The Economist'' said "these arguments need much better supporting material than the book provides".
''Winner Take All''
Moyo's third book, ''Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World'' (2012), examines global commodity
In economics, a commodity is an economic good, usually a resource, that has full or substantial fungibility: that is, the market treats instances of the good as equivalent or nearly so with no regard to who produced them.
The price of a comm ...
dynamics over the next several decades, specifically China's massive global rush for natural resources including hard commodities (metals and minerals) and soft commodities (timber and food). It predicts the financial and geopolitical implications of a world of diminishing resources, and argues that China is already well on the way to gaining the upper hand in world economic dominance.[Dambisa Moyo]
''Speakers Associates''. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
''Winner Take All'' became a ''New York Times'' bestseller.
. '' The New York Times''. 24 June 2012. A review in the ''Financial Times'' stated that "If Dambisa Moyo is right, the demands of the world's most populous state are bad news for the rest of us. ... One cannot accuse Moyo of failing to do her homework." '' The Telegraph'' commented "Moyo thinks hina's impact on the global commodity marketwill go on and on, powered by an unstoppable Chinese economy. Perhaps she is right, but the grounds for doubting whether the future will be a straight line from the past deserve a hearing."[Blair, David]
"''Winner Take All'' by Dambisa Moyo: review"
. '' The Telegraph''. 19 Jun 2012.
''How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World''
Moyo's fifth book, ''How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World'' was released in 2021. It provides an insider's perspective of corporate boards, reassesses the three-part board mandate, and calls for more transparent, knowledgeable, and diverse boards to steer companies through 21st-century challenges. The ''Financial Times'' stated that the book would be "highly instructive for aspiring non-executives" and provided "thoughtful analysis and reform proposals against which boardroom sophisticates can usefully test their assumptions".
Personal life
In December 2020 Moyo married billionaire Jared Smith, co-founder of Utah-based cloud computing company Qualtrics.
Bibliography
*''Dead Aid: Why Aid Is Not Working and How There Is a Better Way for Africa'' (2009)
*''How the West Was Lost: Fifty Years of Economic Folly – And the Stark Choices that Lie Ahead'' (2011)
*''Winner Take All: China's Race for Resources and What It Means for the World'' (2012)
*'' Edge of Chaos: Why Democracy Is Failing to Deliver Economic Growthand How to Fix It'' (2018)
*''How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World'' (2021)
References
External links
*
*
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Moyo, Dambisa
1969 births
Living people
Zambian women economists
Zambian economists
Harvard Kennedy School alumni
Alumni of St Antony's College, Oxford
American University alumni
Goldman Sachs people
World Bank people
Zambian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Zambian women writers
Kogod School of Business alumni
Barclays people
20th-century Zambian writers
21st-century Zambian writers
20th-century Zambian women writers
21st-century Zambian women writers
People from Lusaka
Life peers created by Charles III
Life peeresses created by Charles III
Conservative Party (UK) life peers
Black British politicians
Black British women politicians