Sam Hickey is Professor of Politics and Development at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. As Research Director of the Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) research centre (2011-2020), he worked with many colleagues on the links between politics and development, with particular reference to state capacity, natural resource governance, social protection, education, and gender equity. He is currently Deputy CEO for the African Cities Research Consortium at the University of Manchester and President of the Development Studies Association (2020-2023).
Kunal Sen is the Director of UNU-WIDER, and Professor of Development Economics at the Global Development Institute, University of Manchester. He is a leading international expert on the political economy of growth and development. He has performed extensive research on international finance, the political economy determinants of inclusive growth, the dynamics of poverty, social exclusion, female labour force participation, and the informal sector in developing economies. His research has focused on India, East Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa. He has been the Joint Research Director of the Effective States and Inclusive Development (ESID) research centre, and a Research Fellow at IZA.