Michael Woolcock's guest appearances

Michael Woolcock

Public lecture podcasts

ROCKING OUR PRIORS

The Accord Research Alliance Podcast

Conversation Six

Susanna Campbell

Daron Acemoglu

Claudia Goldin

Yuen Yuen Ang

Jude Blanchette

Julian Gewirtz

Carl Minzner

Scott Kennedy

Susan Thornton

Emma Ashford

Jonathan Ward

Paul Triolo

Graham Allison

Mary Gallagher

Ben Anderson

OwlTail

Vijayendra Rao

Vijayendra Rao and Michael Woolcock on "Measuring What Matters."

 Vijayendra Rao and Michael Woolcock

Michael Woolcock has been at the World Bank for 20 years, where he is the Lead Social Scientist in the Development Research Group. For twelve years he has also been a (part-time) Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.As a sociologist, he's written about culture, social development, and social capital. Michael is also on the editorial board for Accord's new journal, Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy (CRDA). Nathan Mallonee from Living Water International talks with Michael about how he got to the World Bank from Australia, his new book on building state capability, the case for using mixed methods for research, and ideas for papers he'd like to see submitted to the CRDA journal.Here is a link to Michael's new book, Building State Capability: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/building-state-capability-9780198747482?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp; Here is a link to the call for papers for the CRDA journal: https://crdajournal.org/index.php/crda/announcement Michael's Book Recommendations:‘Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Opening of the West’, by D’Arcy Jenish. A biography of the life of first person to map the western coast of North America, from (what is now) Oregon through to British Columbia, and vast areas inland to Hudson Bay. His maps became the basis for where exactly the border was drawn between the US and Canada along the 49th parallel, and included being the first to traverse (and map) the full length of the Columbia River. Doing all this entailed surviving decades of unimaginably cold winters, crossing the Rocky Mountains on foot endless times, learning some of the languages of indigenous peoples, and doing all manner of complex negotiations – all without ever losing a man. ‘The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man Who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold’, by Geoffrey Robertson. Incredible account of the first legal team to challenge the divine right of kings, in the 1640s, arguing that no-one was above the law -- when that notion had never before been tested on a head of state, in this case a king (Charles I) whose civil wars had led one in ten Englishmen to their deaths. The lead lawyer, John Cooke, undertook this task knowing full well that it would likely lead to his own death, which it duly did in the most gruesome manner… Makes a bad day for me seem like a stroll in the park… And the justly classic ‘The Hiding Place’, by Corrie Ten Boom. “Give thanks in all things” takes on a whole new meaning after reading this book…

Michael Woolcock has been at the World Bank for 20 years, where he is the Lead Social Scientist in the Development Research Group. For twelve years he has also been a (part-time) Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. As a sociologist, he's written about culture, social development, and social capital. Michael is also on the editorial board for Accord's new journal, Christian Relief, Development, and Advocacy (CRDA). Nathan Mallonee from Living Water International talks with Michael about how he got to the World Bank from Australia, his new book on building state capability, the case for using mixed methods for research, and ideas for papers he'd like to see submitted to the CRDA journal. Here is a link to Michael's new book, Building State Capability: <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/building-state-capability-9780198747482?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://global.oup.com/academic/product/building-state-capability-9780198747482?cc=us&amp;lang=en&amp;</a> Here is a link to the call for papers for the CRDA journal: <a href="https://crdajournal.org/index.php/crda/announcement" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://crdajournal.org/index.php/crda/announcement</a> Michael's Book Recommendations: ‘Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the Opening of the West’, by D’Arcy Jenish. A biography of the life of first person to map the western coast of North America, from (what is now) Oregon through to British Columbia, and vast areas inland to Hudson Bay. His maps became the basis for where exactly the border was drawn between the US and Canada along the 49th parallel, and included being the first to traverse (and map) the full length of the Columbia River. Doing all this entailed surviving decades of unimaginably cold winters, crossing the Rocky Mountains on foot endless times, learning some of the languages of indigenous peoples, and doing all manner of complex negotiations – all without ever losing a man. ‘The Tyrannicide Brief: The Story of the Man Who Sent Charles I to the Scaffold’, by Geoffrey Robertson. Incredible account of the first legal team to challenge the divine right of kings, in the 1640s, arguing that no-one was above the law -- when that notion had never before been tested on a head of state, in this case a king (Charles I) whose civil wars had led one in ten Englishmen to their deaths. The lead lawyer, John Cooke, undertook this task knowing full well that it would likely lead to his own death, which it duly did in the most gruesome manner… Makes a bad day for me seem like a stroll in the park… And the justly classic ‘The Hiding Place’, by Corrie Ten Boom. “Give thanks in all things” takes on a whole new meaning after reading this book…

23. Building state capability: an interview with Michael Woolcock from the World Bank

How can we assess the impact and scalability of complex interventions?Why use mixed methods?How can we tackle hubris among economists at the World Bank?The wonderful Professor Michael Woolcock (Lead Social Scientist at the World Bank) makes the case for mixed methods.This discussion draws on his chapter, forthcoming in Michiru Nagatsu and Attilia Ruzzene (eds.) (forthcoming) "Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Social Science: A Dialogue". (London: Bloomsbury Academic)You can read more about his work here: http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/m/michael-woolcock

How can we assess the impact and scalability of complex interventions? Why use mixed methods? How can we tackle hubris among economists at the World Bank? The wonderful Professor Michael Woolcock (Lead Social Scientist at the World Bank) makes the case for mixed methods. This discussion draws on his chapter, forthcoming in Michiru Nagatsu and Attilia Ruzzene (eds.) (forthcoming) "Philosophy and Interdisciplinary Social Science: A Dialogue". (London: Bloomsbury Academic) You can read more about his work here: <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/m/michael-woolcock" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.worldbank.org/en/about/people/m/michael-woolcock</a>

How do we know what works? Professor Michael Woolcock