Michael Woolcock

Lecturer in Public Policy
Harvard Kennedy School
Office Address
Littauer-116
Mailing Address
John F. Kennedy School of Government
Mailbox 37
79 JFK Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
Contact
Phone: 617-495-8270
Email: Michael_Woolcock@hks.harvard.edu
Assistant
Mae Klinger (617-495-4725)
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Profile

Michael Woolcock, Lecturer in Public Policy, is Lead Social Development Specialist with the World Bank's Development Research Group in Washington, D.C. His current work focuses on interactions between customary and state legal systems, conducted as part of the World Bank's global 'Justice for the Poor' program (which he co-founded), and strategies for assessing complex social interventions. His most recent books are Contesting Development: Participatory Projects and Local Conflict Dynamics in Indonesia (with Patrick Barron and Rachael Diprose; Yale University Press, 2011), and History, Historians and Development Policy: A Necessary Dialogue (edited with C.A. Bayly, Vijayendra Rao and Simon Szreter; Manchester University Press, 2011). An Australian national, he has an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University. He taught previously at Harvard Kennedy School from 2000-2006, and from 2006-2009 was founding Research Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute at the University of Manchester, where he was Professor of Social Science and Development Policy.

Courses

Spring

  • PED-308 Social Institutions and Economic Development

Research

For a complete list of faculty citations from 2001 - present, please visit the Harvard Kennedy School Research Report Online.

Selected Publication Citations:

  • Academic Journal/Scholarly Articles
    • Lewis, David, Dennis Rodgers, and Michael Woolcock. "The Projection of Development: Cinematic Representation as A(nother) Source of Authoritative Knowledge?" Journal of Development Studies 49.3 (2013): 383-397.
    • Lant Pritchett, Michael Woolcock, and Matthew Andrews. "Looking Like a State: Techniques of Persistent Failure in State Capability for Implementation." Journal of Development Studies 49.1 (January 2013): 1-18.
    • Gauri, Varun, Michael Woolcock, and Deval Desai. "Intersubjective Meaning and Collective Action in Developing Societies: Theory, Evidence and Policy Implications." Journal of Development Studies 49.1 (2013): 160-172.