Conference 2017: Speaker Biographies

Keynote speakers

Georges Vivien Houngbonon

Georges Vivien Houngbonon is an economist and currently the president of a think-tank called L'Afrique des Idées. His research interests include, but are not limited to, Industrial Organization, Development Economics, and Econometrics.

Georges Vivien Houngbonon holds a Ph.D in Economics from l'Ecole d'Economie de Paris, a Master's degree in Public Policy and Development by PSEa and a Graduate Diploma in Statistical Engineering from l'ENSAE, Sénégal.

Marc Raffinot

Marc Raffinot is a senior lecturer in LEDa-DIAL at University Paris IX-Dauphine, France. He is a Member of the French Association of Economists, the French Association of Development Economists, the Association Française de Comptabilité Nationale, and the Société Française de l’Evaluation. His area of expertise expertise includes, but is not limited to, Macroeconomics, Macro-Modelisation, and Financial Progamming.

Marc Raffinot holds a Ph.D in Economics from University Paris VIII, France.

Moderators

Patrick Clairzier

Patrick Clairzier specializes in Haitian politics, neoliberalism, the political economy of developing countries, and global inequalities. He is a Ph.D. Candidate at the American Graduate School in Paris; the working title of his dissertation is: "Beyond the Neoliberal Free Trade Development Paradigm: The Potential of Cooperative Ownership in the Haitian Apparel Industry". Patrick Clairzier also teaches American Law and Environmental Law at the University of Cergy-Pontoise. 

Bertrand de Largentaye

Bertrand de Largentaye has a forty-year experience as a policy expert in the French government and EU institutions. He currently teaches at the American Graduate School, Science-Po and the Ecole de Management du pôle universitaire Léonard de Vinci. He is a member of the Management Council and Strategic Orientation Council of the Institut des Hautes Etudes d'Amérique Latine (IHEAL). Bertrand de Largentaye has a degree from ENA (Ecole Nationale d'Administation), France.

Douglas Yates

Douglas Yates is a political scientist, specialized in African politics. He teaches at the American Graduate School and also is an associate professor at the Université de Cergy-Pontoise. His latest book is entitled The Scramble for African Oil: Oppression, Corruption and War for Control of Africa's Natural Resources (London: Pluto Press, 2012).

Douglas Yates holds a Ph.D in Political Science from Boston University.