Dr. Edmund Malesky is a Professor of Political Economy in the Department of Political Science at Duke University and a noted specialist in economic development, authoritarian institutions and comparative political economy. In 2020, he became the director of the Duke Center for International Development (DCID), a unit within Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy that advances international development policy and practice through interdisciplinary approaches to post-graduate education, mid-career training, international advising, and research.

Dr. Malesky has published in the top journals in political science and economics and authored the books China’s Governance Puzzle: Enabling Transparency and Participation in a Single-Party State and Incentives to Pander. How Politicians Use Corporate Welfare for Political Gain.

He’s served as the Chair of the Southeast Asia Research Group (SEAREG) Executive Council since 2019 and is a member of the board of the International Political Economy Society (IPES). He also serves on the editorial boards of several publications, including the Journal of Politics, Comparative Political Studies and the Journal of East Asian Studies. In 2013, he was appointed by President Obama to serve on the Vietnam Education Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. Malesky is the lead researcher, architect and author of the Vietnam Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) and the senior adviser on methodology for Vietnam’s Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI). He received a state medal from the Government of Vietnam in recognition of his work to promote economic development in Vietnam.