Today’s episode is the second of a 3-part series featuring professors from Clark University, hosted by Nathan Greene.
Dr. Denise Bebbington is currently a research associate professor at Clark University, where she is the co-director of the Center for the Study of Natural Resources Extraction and Society, a research institute within Clark. Before she became a professor, Dr. Bebbington worked as a representative to Peru for the Inter-American Foundation, South American regional sub-director for Catholic Relief Services, and Latin America Program Coordinator for the Global Greengrants Fund. She has extensive on-the-ground experience working on development projects in South America, especially when it comes to democratization and strengthening institutions. Her research focuses on the political ecology of Latin America’s extractives industries and how it impacts indigenous communities. Her writings explore the intersection of gender, the environment, and development. She has authored and coauthored numerous books and articles for publications such as Environmental Science and Policy, World Development, the European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, as well as many others. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley in history, her master’s in Development Management from American University, and her PhD in Development Policy and Management from the University of Manchester.
Dr. Bebbington discussed why conventional economic indicators like GDP fail to capture the true development story of a country, Latin America’s growth in the 21st century, and why large-scale infrastructure projects tend to be disruptive to peoples’ way of living.