Emily Brearley
Dr. Brearley is an economist on mission to find simple solutions to complex problems. In her new book “Aid Inferno” she explores what went wrong with the traditional aid system, and what a better approach would look like that empowers people and is good for the planet.
With 25 years of experience at global institutions like the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and USAID, Dr. Brearley has unparalleled expertise in designing transformative, high-impact programs that drive sustainable economic growth in emerging markets. Her company Solution42.Org designs innovative finance solutions, for climate and women’s empowerment, and pioneers disaster risk management plans that will save millions of lives across the African sub-continent.
Dr. Brearley’s career as a development economist began a quarter century ago at the World Bank, where she worked with farmers, indigenous entrepreneurs and women’s collectives to create sustainable livelihoods and tackle inter-generational poverty; working in sectors like Land, Disaster Risk Management and Safety Nets. Dr. Brearley is a global thought leader on women’s empowerment, and the ethics of climate change, and the ways in which natural disasters have impacted the lives of those living on the edge—she has led teams to design new financial mechanisms like debt for nature swaps, innovative farming techniques and community-based disaster risk management protocols that save lives and center local solutions.
Today, Dr. Brearley collaborates with start-ups, NGOs and advises international corporations on how to design and implement projects that will WORK: centering sustainability, profitability and inclusion. She uses rigorous political economy and macroeconomic analysis; combined with common sense local know-how to ensure that women and men contribute equally to community development. Dr. Brearley was an early proponent of including the environment in the standard economics production function of capital and labor—if it is not measured it will not be valued. She received a Fulbright scholarship to study for a master’s degree in international relations in the United States and holds a Ph.D. in economics from Johns Hopkins University.