Institute of Development Studies

Biography

Andy is an inter-disciplinary Development Economist.

His research is primarily in the field of global poverty and inequality with particular reference to middle-income countries.

His research on poverty challenges the orthodox view that most of the world’s extreme poor live in the world’s poorest countries, and that extreme poverty is minimal or ‘residual’ at higher levels of average per capita income; rather, that poverty is the outcome of patterns of growth and distribution, and social processes and structures.

He has written six books and published in journals including World Development and is co-editor of Palgrave MacMillan's book series, ‘Rethinking International Development’.

He is also Vice-President of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and a council member of the Development Studies Association (DSA).

In 2011 he was listed in Foreign Policy’s Top 100 Global Thinkers and Devex's '40-under-40 Global Development Leaders' for his work on the ‘new bottom billion’ about poverty in middle-income countries.

This work was covered by the Economist, BBC News, the Guardian, Voice of America, the Atlantic and Fox News.

Selected Projects and Recent Work

• The New Bottom Billion

Thematic Expertise

Aid; Inequality; Poverty.

Geographic Expertise

South East Asia.

Selected Publications »»

• Carbonnier, G. and Sumner, A. (2012) 'Reframing Aid in a World Where the Poor Live in Emerging Economies', International Development Policy , Geneva: Palgrave Macmillan
• Gentilini, U. and Sumner, A (2012) 'What do National Poverty Lines tell us about Global Poverty?' , Brighton: IDS
• Sumner, A., Suryahadi, A. and Thang, N. (2012) 'Poverty and Inequalities in Middle-Income Southeast Asia' , Brighton: IDS
• Sumner, A. and Mallett, R. (2012) 'Aid: A Survey in Light of Changes in the Distribution of Global Poverty' , Brighton: IDS
• Sumner, A. (2012) 'Global Poverty and the “New Bottom Billion” Revisited: Exploring The Paradox That Most Of The World’s Extreme Poor No Longer Live In The World’s Poorest Countries'
• Sumner, A. (2012) ' Is Global Poverty Rapidly Becoming A Matter Of National Inequality? IDS: Brighton' , IDS
• Sumner, A. (2011) 'Poverty in Middle-Income Countries' , Brighton: IDS
• Sumner, A. (2011) 'Poverty in Middle-Income Countries', Bellagio Initiative Briefing Summary , Brighton: IDS
• Glassman, A., Duran, D. and Sumner, A. (2011) 'Global Health and the New Bottom Billion: What Do Shifts in Global Poverty and the Global Disease Burden Mean for GAVI and the Global Fund?', CGD Working Paper 270, Washington, DC: Center for Global Development
• Sumner, A. (2011) 'Where Do The Poor Live?', World Development (In Press), Amsterdam: Elsevier
• Kanbur, R. and Sumner, A. (2011) 'Poor Countries or Poor People? Development Assistance and the New Geography of Global Poverty', CEPR Discussion Paper 8489, London: Centre for Economic Policy Research
• Sumner, A. (2011) 'Where do the Poor Live? An Update' , Brighton: IDS
• Jones, N.A. and Sumner, A. (2011) Child Poverty, Evidence and Policy: Mainstreaming Children in International Development, London:
• Sumner, A. (2011) 'The New Bottom Billion: What If Most of the World’s Poor Live in Middle-Income Countries?', Centre for Global Development (CGD) Policy Brief , Washington, DC: CGD
• Masset, E., Mulmi, R. and Sumner, A. (2011) 'Does Research Reduce Poverty? Assessing the Welfare Impacts of Policy-oriented Research in Agriculture', IDS Working Paper 360, Brighton: IDS