MCC Economic Advisory Council

The Millennium Challenge Corporation is dedicated to analytic rigor and evidence driven decision making in the design and development of its assistance to low income countries. Central to this is the use of high quality and up-to-date tools to understand the drivers of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction. MCC is also deeply committed to rigorous evaluation of its work in order to both understand and learn from practice, as well as to report on and be accountable for results.

MCC’s Economic Advisory Council (“EAC”) was created to pursue both these objectives – evidence driven decision making and rigorous evaluation. Its aim is to systematically take stock of the most recent trends in development economics, applied economic methods, poverty analytics, evaluation methods, and modeling, measuring, and evaluating development interventions. Convening experts in an advisory role will serve to inform MCC’s compact and threshold program development and measurement of results, shape future policy decisions and methodology, and enhance program outcomes in MCC’s partner countries.

The Role of the MCC Economic Advisory Council

An overarching purpose of the Economic Advisory Council will be to sharpen MCC’s analytical methods and capacity in support of continuing development effectiveness. It will serve as a reference group for assessing and advising on methodological directions and innovations in MCC. The EAC will focus on issues related to the analytical products and strategy used as inputs to compact and threshold program development and decision making, on learning from MCC experience about compact effectiveness and impact, and to reflect on the broader global development trends and context of MCC’s work.

The EAC will provide advice to MCC on issues related to growth and development in low and middle income countries including:

  1. New perspectives on economic development;
  2. Innovative approaches to growth analytics;
  3. Innovations in program and project evaluation;
  4. Applied microeconomics and cost-benefit analytics;
  5. Poverty and income dynamics;
  6. Social development and the economics of gender; and
  7. Other innovations in the field of development economics and evaluation.

Membership

Member Qualifications

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, MCC established the MCC Economic Advisory Council and sought nominations for EAC members from academic organizations, independent think tanks, and international development agencies. Members were chosen to represent a diversity of expertise, background and geographic experience.

EAC members serve MCC in an advisory capacity and provide advice and guidance to MCC economists, evaluators, leadership of the Department of Policy and Evaluation (DPE) and senior MCC leadership regarding relevant trends in development economics, applied economic and evaluation methods, poverty analytics, modeling, measuring and evaluating development interventions.

Member Nominations

The EAC consists of up to 25 people who are recognized experts in their field, academics, innovators and thought leaders, representing academic organizations, independent think tanks, international development agencies, multilateral and regional development financial institutions, and foundations. MCC includes expertise from developing countries, within our resource constraints to support logistic costs.

All members of the EAC are independent of the agency, representing the views and interests of their respective area of expertise. They do not serve as Special Government Employees. All members serve without compensation. The duties of the EAC are solely advisory and any determinations to be made or actions to be taken on the basis of EAC advice will be made or taken by appropriate officers of MCC.

The selection team made recommendations regarding membership to the Vice President for MCC’s Department of Policy and Evaluation based on criteria including:

  1. professional experience, and knowledge;
  2. academic field and expertise;
  3. experience within regions in which MCC works;
  4. contribution of diverse regional or technical professional perspectives, and
  5. availability and willingness to serve.

In the selection of members for the EAC, MCC sought to ensure a balanced representation and consider a cross-section of those interested and qualified, as appropriate to the nature and functions of the EAC.

Nominations were open to all individuals without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, mental or physical disability, marital status or sexual orientation.

Meetings

The EAC expects to hold meetings once or twice a year. In line with MCC’s core principle of transparency, and according to the guidelines set out by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, all meetings are open to the public, and meeting minutes will be posted at the bottom of this page. In advance of each meeting, a notice of meeting will be posted to the Federal Register and linked at the bottom of this page.

2023–2024

Members

  • Ehtisham Ahmad
    • London School of Economics
  • Emmanuelle Auriol
    • Toulouse School of Economics
  • Asli Demirguc-Kunt
    • Center for Global Development
  • Stefan Dercon
    • University of Oxford
  • Shanta Devarajan
    • Georgetown University
  • Shahrokh Fardoust
    • College of William and Mary
  • Raquel Fernández
    • New York University
  • Louise Fox
    • University of California, Berkeley
  • Alan Gelb
    • Center for Global Development
  • Maitreesh Ghatak
    • London School of Economics
  • Caren Grown
    • The Brookings Institution
  • Ravi Kanbur
    • Cornell University
  • Mushtaq Khan
    • University of London-SOAS
  • Homi Kharas
    • Brookings Institution
  • Syed Akhtar Mahmood
    • former World Bank
  • Will Martin
    • International Food Policy Research Institute
  • Will Masters
    • Tufts University
  • Célestin Monga
    • Harvard Kennedy School
  • Lant Pritchett
    • Harvard Kennedy School
  • Tauhidur Rahman
    • University of Arizona
  • Paul Smoke
    • New York University
  • Michael Woolcock
    • World Bank