Robert M. Townsend, Interviewed by Stephen Yeo Robert M. Townsend of MIT talks about his research on how the lives of the world’s poor can be improved through more efficient financial systems. Drawing on data gathered from an extensive survey of Thai households, Townsend discusses risk-sharing and the...

Published: Jan / Feb 2008 Along a narrow gravel road in central Thailand’s Lopburi province stands a two-story house with a corrugated-steel roof. On a hot day last August a family of three sat cross-legged on the cobalt-tiled floor and talked about their life and work with interviewers from the Thai...

Published: April 24, 2008 Mexico’s social and economic development could get a boost through an agreement signed Thursday between the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago and Mexican Secretariat of Social Development (SEDESOL). The agreement will facilitate research to...

Published: October 9, 2008 The most comprehensive set of data gathered on Thailand's developing economy is now available free online. The Townsend Thai Data, which economist Robert M. Townsend and his colleagues gathered, is available at http://dvn.iq.harvard.edu/dvn/dv/rtownsend . The site includes...