William Ascher

Background

Ascher, William was born on January 3, 1947 in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Son of Meyer S. and Beckie (Berger) Ascher.

Education

Bachelor, University of Michigan, 1968; Master of Philosophy, Yale University, 1970; Doctor of Philosophy, Yale University, 1975.

Career

Previously, as Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, he directed Duke University's Center for International Development Research (1985–2000). He studies strategic planning, policymaking in developing countries, natural-resource and environmental policy, Latin American and Asian political economy, political psychology, and forecasting methods. He has authored Forecasting: An Appraisal for Policymakers and Planners (1978), Scheming for the Poor: The Politics of Redistribution in Latin America (1984), Natural Resource Policymaking in Developing Countries (1990), Communities and Sustainable Forestry in Developing Countries (1994), Why Governments Waste Natural Resources (1999), and Bringing in the Future: Strategies for Farsightedness and Sustainability (2009).

He co-authored or co-edited Strategic Planning and Forecasting (1983), Central American Recovery and Development (1989), The Caspian Sea: A Quest for Environmental Security (2000), Guide to Sustainable Development and Environmental Policy (200I), and Revitalizing Political Psychology (2005).

Works

• book

  • Natural Resource Policymaking in Developing Countries: Environment, Economic Growth, and Income Distribution

    ( Drawing on case studies developed over a two-year perio...)

  • Strategic Planning and Forecasting: Political Risk and Economic Opportunity

    (The first systematic treatment of political forecasting a...)

  • Scheming for the Poor: The Politics of Redistribution in Latin America

    ( Scheming for the Poor is the first comparative analysis...)

  • By William Ascher - Strategic Planning and Forecasting: Political Risk and Economic O (1983-10-08) Hardcover
  • Natural Resource Policymaking in Developing Countries: Environment, Economic Growth, and Income Distribution

Membership

Ascher currently serves as the Director of Soka University of America's Pacific Basin Research Center and is a member of the World Bank's Advisory Group on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.

Connections

Married Barbara Ann Hirschfelder, Dec.21, 1968. Children: Diana, Julia, David.

Father:

Meyer S. Ascher

Mother:

Beckie (Berger) Ascher

Spouse:

Barbara Ann Hirschfelder

child:

David Ascher

child:

Diana Ascher

child:

Julia Ascher