Economist & Professor at New York University

William Easterly is Professor of Economics at New York University, joint with Africana Studies, and Co-Director of NYU’s Development Research Institute. He is also a non-resident Fellow of the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC. William Easterly received his Ph.D. in Economics at MIT. He has spent sixteen years as a Research Economist at the World Bank. His work has been discussed in media outlets like National Public Radio, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the Economist, and Financial Times.

Easterly’s areas of expertise include the determinants of long-run economic growth and the effectiveness of foreign aid. He has worked in most areas of the developing world, including Mexico, Jamaica, Ghana, the Gambia, Colombia, Thailand, Russia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Bolivia, South Africa, and Pakistan. Easterly is an associate editor of the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Economic Growth, and of the Journal of Development Economics.

He is the author of the upcoming book, The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good (Penguin 2006), as well as the much acclaimed, The Elusive Quest for Growth: Economists’ Adventures and Misadventures in the Tropics (MIT, 2001).

President and CEO Globeleq

Globeleq President and Chief Executive Officer Robert Hart has more than 30 years experience in the energy sector, much of it devoted to investing in, developing and operating power projects in emerging markets.

Mr. Hart was the driving force behind the formation of Globeleq and has led the company since its beginning in June 2002. Globeleq is an operating power company solely focused on the emerging markets of Africa, the Americas, and Asia. Globeleq safely provides clean, reliable electricity, creating sustainable returns and supporting the development of the electric power sector in the emerging markets.

Prior to joining Globeleq, he founded Hart Energy International, an international power company that invested in Latin America. From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Hart was President and CEO of Coastal Power Company.

He holds an AB degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University.