Sabina Alkire

Dr. Sabina Alkire is a transformative figure in poverty research who directs the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), a research center she co-founded in 2007 at the University of Oxford. Her groundbreaking work includes developing the Alkire-Foster method with James Foster, which revolutionized how global poverty is measured by considering multiple dimensions of deprivation. Born in Göttingen, Germany, she completed her academic journey from a Bachelor's at the University of Illinois to a DPhil in Economics from Magdalen College, Oxford. Her career spans influential roles at prestigious institutions, including the George Washington University as Oliver T. Carr Professor, Harvard University's Global Equity Initiative, the UN Commission on Human Security, and the World Bank. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) she helped create is now a crucial tool used by the United Nations Development Programme to assess poverty globally. Beyond her academic work, she serves as an Anglican priest and was awarded the Boris Mints Institute Prize in 2020 for her contributions to understanding poverty dynamics. Her research interests encompass welfare economics, the capability approach inspired by Amartya Sen, and human development measurement, making her one of Foreign Policy Magazine's "100 global thinkers" in 2010.