Asli Demirguc-Kunt

Asli Demirgüç-Kunt is the Director of Development Policy in the World Bank's Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC), and Chief Economist of the Financial and Private Sector Network (FPD). After joining the Bank in 1989 as a Young Economist, she has been in different divisions of the Research Group, working on financial sector issues and advising on financial sector policy. She is the lead author of the World Bank Policy Research Report 2007, Finance for All? Policies and Pitfalls in Expanding Access.

The author of over 100 publications, she has published widely in academic journals. Her research has focused on the links between financial development and firm performance and economic development. Banking crises, financial regulation, access to financial services, including SME finance, are among her areas of research. Prior to coming to the Bank, she was an Economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from the Ohio State University.