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Uses and Abuses of Governance Indicators Presentation: Charles Oman Senior Economist, Institutions & Governance, OECD Development Center Discussants: Nancy Zucker Boswell Director, Transparency International USA John Sullivan Executive Director, Center for International Private Enterprise

The event took place on Monday, November 20, 2006
Room 121, Cannon House Office Building
At Independence and New Jersey Aves, NE
9:00-10:00 AM Presentation, 8:30 AM Registration

Event Description:

International investors' and national and multilateral aid agencies' rapidly growing attention to the quality of governance in developing countries and emerging markets is driving explosive growth in the use of quantitative governance indicators.  Drawing on the OECD Development Center's recent study Uses and Abuses of Governance Indicators, of which he is co-author, Charles Oman will explain how different categories of users widely use, and misuse, governance indicators and what should be done, both from a user's perspective and to contribute more effectively to efforts to improve the quality of governance in the developing world. 

Biographies:

Charles P. Oman is a Senior Economist at the OECD Development Center who leads research and policy analysis on corporate governance, public governance and investment behavior in developing countries and emerging-market economies.  He has previously led multi-country policy studies on the effects of competition among governments to attract foreign direct investment; the policy challenges of globalization and regionalization for developing countries; new forms of international investment in developing countries; and the evolution of policy thinking on development.  Mr. Oman holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and has taught economics there and at the Graduate School of Business Administration (ESAN) in Lima, Peru.

Nancy Zucker Boswell is the President & CEO of Transparency International-USA; the US chapter of the global non-profit organization dedicated to combating corruption.  She works with government officials, multilateral institutions, and the private sector to promote the international agenda.  Ms. Boswell has practiced international law at Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, DC, focusing on extraterritorial jurisdiction, export controls, and customs and trade disputes.  Among her affiliations are the USAID Advisory Committee for Voluntary Foreign Aid; the US State Department Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy; and the US Trade Representative’s Trade & Environmental Policy Advisory Committee.  Ms. Boswell is a summa cum laude graduate of American University’s Washington College of Law.

John Sullivan is Executive Director of the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce. As Associate Director of the Democracy Program, John helped to establish both CIPE and the National Endowment for Democracy in 1983. After serving as program director, John became Executive Director in 1991. Under his leadership CIPE developed a number of innovative approaches that link democratic development to market reforms including: combating corruption, promoting corporate governance, building business associations, supporting the informal sector, and programs to assist women and youth entrepreneurs. John joined the US Chamber in 1977 in the Public Affairs Department as a specialist in business and economic education. He is the author of several publications on the transition to democracy, corporate governance, and market-oriented democratic development. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) as well as at George Mason University Graduate School of Public Affairs. John received a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pittsburgh.