Dr. Jenny Aker

Biography

Jenny Aker is the Daniel G. Sisler Professor of Development Economics at Cornell University, specializing in economic development in Africa. Her research focuses on the impact of information and information technology on development outcomes. Aker's work contributes to the fields of agricultural markets, adult education, and financial inclusion, particularly investigating the determinants and impacts of agricultural technology adoption and social protection mechanisms. She has served as a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Global Development and co-chairs the Digital Identification and Finance Initiative for Africa at J-PAL Africa, based at the University of Cape Town. Prior to her position at Cornell, she was a Professor of Development Economics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and the Department of Economics at Tufts University, where she co-directed the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy and directed the Fletcher Leadership Program on Financial Inclusion. Aker has significant field experience in multiple African countries, as well as in Haiti and Guatemala. She has received several awards, including the Fletcher School Research Prize in 2017 and the Paddock Teaching Award in 2015.

Research Interests