James Copestake

James is Professor of International Development at the University of Bath. His research interests embrace agrarian change and rural development, development finance and its evaluation, the definition and measurement of poverty and wellbeing, and the political economy of development. His academic career has entailed playing a wide range of roles, including being Director of the Centre of Development Studies, and Director of Studies for the professional doctorate in policy research and practice at the Institute for Policy Research.

James is a founding director of Bath Social and Development Research Ltd, a social enterprise dedicated to impact evaluation, and has served on the board of several other charities – most recently that of INTRAC. His research and doctoral supervision have extended from the UK to more than a dozen countries across Latin America, Africa and Asia. Prior to joining the University of Bath he worked as an economist and project manager for a variety of international development organisations.