Malcolm McPherson, who earned his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard in 1980, is a senior research associate with the Vietnam Program at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
McPherson joined Harvard Kennedy School in 2000 after having worked for Harvard Institute for International Development (HIID) for 18 years. His research interests include international development, monetary policy, and exchange rate management, macroeconomic reform, and the relationships between education and economic growth. For HIID, he served as resident advisor in The Gambia (1985-89) and Zambia (1992-96). He co-edited with Steven Radelet a book on economic recovery in The Gambia (Harvard University Press, 1995) and, with Catharine Hill, a volume on economic reform in Zambia (Harvard University Press 2004).
As a member of the Belfer Center, Center for Business and Government, and now the Ash Center, McPherson’s research has dealt with public-private partnerships, capacity building in developing countries, post-conflict recovery, agricultural development, and poverty reduction. His most recent assignments include work in Georgia, Armenia, Liberia, Zambia, Timor Leste, Chile, Indonesia, and Myanmar.