Daniel Kaufmann is a Chilean-born economist known for his work on governance, anti‑corruption, and natural resource management. He is the co‑founder and president emeritus of the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (non‑resident) and at R4D, and a visiting professor at the University of Sussex. He has also served on the international board of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and on advisory panels for the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD), the Inter‑American Development Bank, and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.
Early life and education
Born in Santiago, Chile, to Jewish immigrants who fled Germany in 1939, Kaufmann earned a B.A. in economics and statistics from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He later completed an M.A. and a Ph.D. in economics at Harvard University.
Career
Kaufmann began his professional career at the World Bank, where he held positions as senior economist, lead economist, and director of the World Bank Institute. He was the first World Bank chief of mission to Ukraine, overseeing economic reform programs and developing survey techniques to measure corruption and the informal economy. At the World Bank Institute, he led initiatives on global governance and anti‑corruption.
In 2009 he joined the Brookings Institution as a senior fellow, later becoming a non‑resident senior fellow. From 2012 to 2020 he served as president and chief executive officer of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, after which he became president emeritus. He is also a senior fellow at R4D and holds an adjunct professorship in applied macroeconomics at the University of Neuchâtel, where he directs the MSc in Applied Economics.
Major contributions
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Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI): Together with Aart Kraay, Kaufmann developed the WGI, a set of composite indicators measuring six dimensions of governance for over 200 countries since 1996. The methodology includes confidence intervals, a novel feature for governance metrics.
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State capture research: With Joel Hellman and others, he introduced the concept of “state capture” and later helped create the State Capture Index, a global measure of the phenomenon covering more than 170 countries.
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Legal corruption: In collaboration with Pedro Vicente, Kaufmann co‑authored early work on “legal corruption,” examining how laws can be shaped to legitimize otherwise corrupt practices.
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Resource governance: At NRGI, he led the development of the Resource Governance Index and promoted evidence‑based policy advice for natural‑resource‑rich countries.
Selected publications
Kaufmann has authored and co‑authored numerous books and articles, including contributions to the World Development Report, The Quality of Growth, the Investment Climate Around the World series, and the Governance Matters series. His scholarly work is highly cited and frequently downloaded from the Social Science Research Network.
Professional affiliations
- Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution (Global Economy and Development)
- Senior Fellow, R4D (Research for Development)
- President Emeritus, Natural Resource Governance Institute
- Visiting Professor, University of Sussex
- Visiting Professor, University of Neuchâtel (Applied Macroeconomics)
Recognition
Kaufmann’s research on governance and corruption is widely used by governments, international organizations, and rating agencies. He is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences on development, governance, and natural‑resource policy.