Eric Werker

Eric Werker is the William Saywell Professor and academic director of the PhD program at the Beedie School of Business at Simon Fraser University. Eric researches how less developed countries can build more thriving and inclusive private sectors, particularly when they are rich in natural resources, and how international actors can play a positive role in creating successful societies. He has written on foreign aid, private sector development, natural resource governance, non-governmental organizations, inter-governmental organizations, refugees, and Ebola. Eric teaches about strategy, policy, and global economics to MBAs and executives and has authored numerous case studies on companies and countries around the world.

Eric's recent publications (all available for free downloads) on political economy and private sector development include a 2018 Oxford University Press book, Deals and Development (joint with Lant Pritchett and Kunal Sen, on the political economy of private sector development and economic growth), a 2018 article in World Development (joint with Dan Schwab, on how economic rents hinder growth in developing countries), and the December 2016 Harvard Business Review cover article (joint with Aldo Musacchio, on how companies can navigate frontier economies). Eric's recent publications on natural resource-led development include a 2020 article in the World Bank Research Observer (joint with Addisu Lashitew and Michael Ross, on what drives economic diversification), a 2019 article in Extractive Industries and Society (joint with Delgermaa Boldbaatar and Nadia Kunz, on how contract disclosure can improve resource governance), and a 2018 policy report (joint with Ben Boakye, Maggie Cascadden, Jordon Kuschminder, and Sam Szoke-Burke, on a community benefit agreement in Ghana). Eric also has recent papers in two areas of longstanding interest: international organizations, with 2019 article in Review of International Organizations (joint with Paul Novosad, measuring the contribution of different countries in staffing the United Nations), and Liberia, with 2019 article in Economic Development and Cultural Change (with John Spray, on the surprising impact of price controls).

Outside of academia, Eric serves on the Emerging Economy Task Force of the Province of British Columbia, is a nonresident fellow at the Center for Global Development in Washington and an advisor to the Liberia program of the International Growth Centre in London. He has chaired the the academic directorate of the Canadian International Resources and Development Institute, set up and directed the International Growth Centre’s Liberia program, served as economic advisor to the President of Liberia, supported host government teams negotiating concession agreements, was a member of the Centre for International Policy Studies study group on Canada’s sustainable development policy, consulted to the NGO Conservation International on low-carbon development and to the US Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation on foreign aid projects, and worked with the Refugee Law Project in Uganda.

Eric grew up in Vancouver, earned his A.B. and Ph.D in economics at Harvard, and then spent nearly a decade on the faculty of Harvard Business School before returning home. In his spare time Eric can be found spending time with family, skiing, paddling, and mountain biking. He lives in Kitsilano with his wife and two kids.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

ARTICLES AND REPORTS

Lashitew, A., Ross, M., & Werker, E. (2020). What Drives Successful Economic Diversification in Resource-Rich Countries? World Bank Research Observer. https://doi.org/10.1093/wbro/lkaa001

Lashitew, A., Ross, M., & Werker, E. (2020). Online Appendix for: What Drives Successful Economic Diversification in Resource-Rich Countries? Chicago, Illinois, United States: LRW Publishing of Chicago.

Boldbaatar, D., Kunz, N., & Werker, E. (2019). Improved resource governance through transparency: Evidence from Mongolia. The Extractive Industries and Society, 6(3), 775-787.

Spray, J., & Werker, E. (2019). Price Controls in Liberia. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 67(3), 461-491. Novosad, P., & Werker, E. (2019). Who runs the international system? Nationality and leadership in the United Nations Secretariat. Review of International Organizations, 14(1), 1-33.

Schwab, D., & Werker, E. (2018). Are economic rents good for development? Evidence from the manufacturing sector. World Development, 112, 33-45.

Boakye, B., Cascadden, M., Kuschminder, J., Szoke-Burke, S., & Werker, E. (2018). Implementing the Ahafo benefit agreements: seeking meaningful participation at Newmont's Ahafo gold mine in Ghana. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Canadian International Resources and Development Institute.

Musacchio, A., & Werker, E. (2016). Mapping frontier economies. Harvard Business Review, 94(12), 40-48.

McArthur, J. W., & Werker, E. (2016). Developing countries and international organizations: Introduction to the special issue. Review of International Organizations, 11(2), 155-169.

BOOKS CHAPTERS AND MONOGRAPHS

Pritchett, L., Sen, K., & Werker, E. (2018). Deals and Development: An Introduction to the Conceptual Framework. In Pritchett, L., Sen, K., & Werker, E. (Eds.), Deals and Development: The Political Dynamics of Growth Episodes (pp. 1-38). Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Pritchett, L., Sen, K., & Werker, E. (2018). Searching for a ‘Recipe’ for Episodic Development. In Pritchett, L., Sen, K., & Werker, E. (Eds.), Deals and Development: The Political Dynamics of Growth Episodes (pp. 339-354). Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Werker, E., & Pritchett, L. (2018). Deals and Development in a Resource-Dependent, Fragile state: The Political Economy of Growth in Liberia 1960-2014. In Pritchett, L., Sen, K., & Werker, E. (Eds.), Deals and Development: The Political Dynamics of Growth Episodes (pp. 39-70). Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Ackah, C. (Ed.). (2018). Deals and Development: The Political Dynamics of Growth Episodes. Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN:9780198801641.

Donovan, J., Lawrence, K., Neyor, C., Niesten, E., & Werker, E. (2013). Assessing potential carbon revenues from reduced forest cover loss in Liberia. In Revesz, R. L., Livermore, M. A., Livermore, M. A., & Revesz, R. L. (Eds.), The Globalization of Cost-Benefit Analysis in Environmental Policy (pp. 293-304). Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.

Werker, E., Ahmed, F., & Cohen, C. (2013). How is foreign aid spent? Evidence from a natural experiment. In Millner, H. V., Tingley, D., Milner, H. V., & Tingley, D. (Eds.), Geopolitics of Foreign Aid. Cheltenham, United Kingdom: Edward Elgar.