Michael Walls

Michael is Professor of Development Politics and Economy and Director of UCL's Development Planning Unit (DPU). He has twelve years' experience in senior management in the private sector and lectures in 'market-led approaches to development' (a module titled 'Society and Market: Private Agency for Development') and was responsible for teaching development management at DPU ('Development in Practice').

He is actively involved in a number of groups, including the Anglo-Somali Society, Somaliland Focus (UK) and Kayd Somali Arts and Culture Ltd. He has worked in New Zealand and the UK and has also been involved in development work in Somalia/Puntland/Somaliland, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.

Research, consultancy and teaching interests lie in the related areas of development management and governance, including: state formation in developing countries; post-conflict reconstruction; state-led development and approaches to regulation of the market to promote equitable development; livelihoods in informal economies – especially African cities; frameworks for understanding and measuring development and wellbeing; and the ethical foundations for development intervention. Michael has established a particular focus on the Somali areas and Ethiopia within the Horn of Africa.