Robert Klitgaard is a University Professor at Claremont Graduate University, where he served as the President from 2005 to 2009.
He previously served as Dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School, where he was also the Ford Distinguished Professor of International Development and Security. He has twice been the Li Ka-shing Distinguished Chair Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. He was a Professor of Economics at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban; Lester Crown Professor of Economics at Yale’s School of Management; and an Associate Professor of Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, where he also served half-time as Special Assistant to Harvard President Derek Bok.
Klitgaard advises governments on economic strategy and institutional reform, and his consulting work and research have taken him to more than 30 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He has been called “the world’s leading expert on corruption” (The Christian Science Monitor). He has served on the faculty of the World Economic Forum, the editorial boards of Theoria and the Journal of Economic Literature, and the Board of the International Development Evaluation Association.
In addition to many articles, he has written a number of books:
Bold and Humble: How to Lead Public-Private-Citizen Collaboration (under review). Four case studies of local partnerships on cultural preservation, urban beautification, high-tech high schools, and local economic development provide inspiration and practical guidance for leaders in Bhutan and around the world.
Prevail: How to Face Upheavals and Make Big Choices with the Help of Heroes (Wipf and Stock, 2022). “Too often, life is about getting by, avoiding hardship and upheaval. That is a missed opportunity. In Prevail, Robert Klitgaard masterfully lays out the hero’s path to ordinary greatness by seeing all of life as a calling. We all need this book.” —Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard University and New York Times bestselling author.
Adjusting to Reality: Beyond “State versus Market” in Economic Development (Routledge, 2021; originally ICS Press and International Center for Economic Growth, 1991), a study of policies to make markets work better, make governments work better, and close the economic gaps among ethnic groups. “Lively and highly readable … goes beyond the abstractions of academia and the slogans of the World Bank to present a step-by-step guide to identifying problems and implementing the recommended policies.” —Journal of Economic Literature.
The Culture and Development Manifesto (Oxford University Press, 2021). With fascinating examples from around the world, this inspiring book shows how to take account of cultural diversity in reshaping economic and political development. “Highly engaging … This is a book that only Klitgaard, with his sharp multidisciplinary lens, wealth of on-the-ground experience, and remarkable penmanship, could have pulled off.” —Dani Rodrik, Harvard University
Klitgaard received A.B., M.P.P., and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University.
Address: Claremont Graduate University, 160 East Tenth Street, Claremont, CA 91711.
Tel: 909-607-4314. E-mail: robert.klitgaard@gmail.com or robert.klitgaard@cgu.edu