Global development Economist and Author, UNDP

Ali Zafar is a macroeconomist and private sector specialist with more than 20 years of experience researching policy and advising governments in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. His work focuses on macroeconomic policy, governance, private sector competitiveness and infrastructure finance, with particular emphasis on low-income, post-conflict, and emerging market economies.

Ali is the author of the forthcoming book, The CFA Franc Zone: Economic Development and the Post-Covid Recovery (Palgrave MacMillan, 2021) and co-author of Tales from the Development Frontier: How China and Other Countries Harness Light Manufacturing to Create Jobs and Prosperity (World Bank Group, 2013).

In addition to his books, he has written numerous papers exploring a variety of technical topics such as exchange rate dynamics, fiscal frameworks for natural resources management, capital market development, and investment climate reform.

Over the course of his career he has served as a Senior Economist with the International Finance Corporation and World Bank, as well as a consultant to the United Nations, Gates Foundation, and USAID. He currently works as a consultant to the African Development Bank and USAID.