Iwan J. Azis is Professor of Emerging Markets within the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and was the Director of Graduate Studies, Regional Science program (2005-2010) at Cornell University where he has taught since 1992. He consulted several governments and organizations in Asia, and was visiting professor in Japan, Australia, Singapore, and Indonesia. He headed the Office of Regional Economic Integration at the ADB, during which he became the Interim Chair of the of the Board of Directors of the Trust Fund-Credit Guarantee Investment Facility (CGIF), and member of the International Policy Advisory Group. He is currently research adviser to the Indonesian Central Bank and the Deposit Insurance Corporation, and a member of International Advisory Panel of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Awarded "Distinguished Scholar in Regional Science, Financial Economics, and Economic Modeling" in 2006, and the recipient of 2022 “Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. Emerging Markets Award,” his research focuses on the interlink between macro-financial economics, social-institutions, and spatial inequalities in emerging markets. His recent books are “Regional Economics: Fundamental Concepts, Policies, and Institutions” (2021), “Periphery and Small Ones Matter: Interplay of Policy and Social Capital” (2022), and “Listen and Design: On Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises” (2024). His recent articles are “Financial Spillover in Emerging Asia” Asian Economic Papers (2021), “Indonesia: A Tale of Three Crises” in Trauma to Triumph: Rising from the Ashes of the Asian Financial Crisis (2022), and “The Sustainability Agenda Humankind Needs” in D+C Development and Cooperation (2024).