The Williams College Center for Development Economics (CDE) and the Per Jacobsson Foundation are delighted to introduce a new initiative, the CDE/Per Jacobsson Foundation Speaker Series.   The invited speakers will be CDE Alumni who have worked as economic policy makers in the public sector of their countries.  They will return to the Williams campus to give talks and to spend time with current CDE fellows.  The goal is to share some of their practical experiences and to inspire others to follow similar paths in public service.  The Per Jacobsson Foundation has generously agreed to support this initiative for three years.  Three speakers have already been invited for the 2023-24 academic year.

The Per Jacobsson Foundation, founded in 1963, is committed to carrying on the mission of international cooperation in the monetary and economic field to which Mr. Jacobsson devoted his life. Mr. Jacobsson, a Swedish economist, had strong ties with the Bank for International Settlements and was the managing director at the International Monetary Fund from 1956 to 1963.

Founded in 1793, Williams College is the second-oldest institution of higher learning in Massachusetts. The college’s approximately 2,000 undergraduate students are taught by a faculty noted for the quality of their teaching and research, and the achievement of academic goals includes active participation of students with faculty in their research.

One of two master’s degree programs at Williams, the Williams Center for Development Economics opened in 1960 and has trained more than 1,300 practicing economists from more than 110 low and lower middle income countries.