Jonathan Morduch (born October 3, 1963) is a professor of public policy and economics at the
Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
The Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service is the public policy school of New York University in New York City, New York. The school is named after New York City former mayor Robert F. Wagner Jr. in 1989.
History
In 1938, NYU of ...
at
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. He is a
development economist
Development economics is a branch of economics which deals with economic aspects of the development process in low- and middle- income countries. Its focus is not only on methods of promoting economic development, economic growth and structural ...
most well known for his significant academic contributions to assessing the impact of
microfinance
Microfinance is a category of financial services targeting individuals and small businesses who lack access to conventional banking and related services. Microfinance includes microcredit, the provision of small loans to poor clients; savings ...
since the early years of the movement. He has written extensively on poverty and financial institutions in developing countries and on tensions between achieving social impacts and meeting financial goals in microfinance.
Morduch is the managing director of the
Financial Access Initiative, a consortium of leading development economists (including
Sendhil Mullainathan
Sendhil Mullainathan () (born c. 1973) is an American professor of Computation and Behavioral Science at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the author of '' Scarcity: Why Having Too Little Means So Much'' (with Eldar Sha ...
at
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and
Dean Karlan at
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
) that aims to expand access to financial services for low-income individuals in developing countries through research, supported by the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...
.
Morduch is currently chair of the United Nations Committee on Poverty Statistics. He is a member of the editorial board of the World Bank Economic Review and of the UN Advisors Group on Inclusive Financial Sectors. Murdoch also serves on the advisory board of
Academics Stand Against Poverty (ASAP).
Life
He holds a BA from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
and Ph.D. from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, both in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
. In January 2009, Morduch was awarded a doctorate ''Honoris Causa'' from the
Université Libre de Bruxelles.
Books and selected publications
Morduch is co-author of ''The Economics of Microfinance'' (2005) with Beatriz Armendariz de Aghion. His book, ''Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day'' is co-authored with Daryl Collins, Stuart Rutherford, and Orlanda Ruthven. His most recent publication, ''Microfinance Meets the Market'', in the
Journal of Economic Perspectives
The ''Journal of Economic Perspectives'' (JEP) is an economic journal published by the American Economic Association. The journal was established in 1987. It is very broad in its scope. According to its editors its purpose is:
#to synthesize and ...
(Winter 2009) investigates the tensions and opportunities for microfinance as it embraces the financial markets. Morduch’s work and views on
access to finance Access to finance is the ability of individuals or enterprises to obtain financial services, including credit, deposit, payment, insurance, and other risk management services.Demirgüç-Kunt, A., Beck, T., & Honohan, P. (2008). ''Finance for All? ...
and social investment are widely cited.
''Portfolios of the Poor''
''Portfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day''was published in 2009 and went on to become a widely recognized book for its realistic presentation of the way poor people manage their money. The book aims to answer one fundamental question: how the poor make ends meet? ''Portfolios of the Poor'' presents research findings based on the "financial diaries" that the authors collected by tracking financial records of more than 250 families across South Africa, Bangladesh, and India throughout one year.
Works
*Beatriz Armendariz; Jonathan Morduch, ''The economics of microfinance'' New Delhi : PHI Learning Press, 2011. ,
*D Collins; Jonathan Morduch; Stuart Rutherford; Orlanda Ruthven, ''Portfolios of the poor : how the world's poor live on $2 a day'', Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2015. ,
*Jonathan Morduch; Rachel Schneider, ''The financial diaries : how American families cope in a world of uncertainty'', Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2017. ,
References
External links
The Financial Access InitiativeJonathan Morduch HomepagePortfolios of the Poor: How the World's Poor Live on $2 a Day
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morduch, Jonathan
1963 births
Living people
21st-century American economists
Brown University alumni
Harvard University alumni
New York University faculty