Katie Wright is a senior lecturer at the School of Law and Social Sciences at the University of East London. She teaches on the BA International Development and International Development with NGO Management and MSc NGO and Development Management programmes. Her research interests include: gender and development, human wellbeing, international migration, microfinance, sustainable livelihoods and Latin America.

Qualifications/ Previous Posts Held

1998-2001: PhD in Latin American Studies (ILAS) University of Liverpool. Thesis Title: ‘Women, the informal sector and microfinance in Cajamarca and Lima (Peru)’.

1997-1998: MA in Latin American Studies (distinction). Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Liverpool.

February 2010- present: Senior Lecturer in International Development, Department of Anthropology, International Politics and International Development, University of East London.

September 2009- December 2009: Part-Time Lecturer in International Development, Department of Anthropology, International Politics and International Development, University of East London.

May 2007- November 2009: Part-Time Lecturer and Visiting Research Fellow at Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath.

August 2005-April 2007: Principal Investigator for ESRC Research Project entitled ‘Conceptualising the Construction of Wellbeing across Spatial Boundaries: The case of Peruvian Migrants in London and Madrid’. Department of Economics and International Development, University of Bath.

February 2005-December 2008: Senior Researcher, INTRAC, Oxford.

January 2004-January 2005: ESRC Postdoctoral research fellow and associate of the ESRC Wellbeing in Developing Countries Research Group (WeD), Department of Economics and International Development, University of Bath.

December 2001-December 2003: Research Officer, Department of Economics and International Development, University of Bath.

1. Key areas of intesrest include: gender and development, international migration and human wellbeing, microfinance, sustainable livelihoods and Latin America.

2. She has conducted ESRC-funded primary research on the construction of human wellbeing amongst Peruvian migrants based in London and Madrid and their relatives in Peru and published a monograph based on these findings with Palgrave Macmillan (2012).

3. She formed part of the Ford Foundation funded "imp-Act' programme involving 40 microfinance organizations worldwide aimed at improving the impact of microfinance on poverty alleviation. 

BA International Development

BA International Development with NGO Management

MSc NGO and Development Management

AI2207 Gender and Development

AI2006 Sustainable Development

AI3000 Research Methods - Latin America Strand

AI1203 Political Economy of International Development

AI3203 Food, Hunger and Development

AI1000 Study Skills

AIM201Development Management in the International Context

AIM 204 Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences

AIM202 Project and Programme Design

My work on gender, wellbeing and the life course builds on and connects two bodies of work (on human wellbeing and international migration and gender, microfinance and sustainable livelihoods). In conjunction with user groups in London mostly recently I am engaged in a research project investigating the inter-generational transmission of human wellbeing between Latin American migrant mothers and daughters in London.

2005-7: ESRC Principal Investigator on project entitled ‘Conceptualising the Construction of Human Wellbeing across Spatial Boundaries: The case of Peruvian Migrants in London and Madrid’. £47,000. [Department of Economics and International Development, University of Bath].

2004-5: ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. [Department of Economics and International Development, University of Bath].

2001-3: Ford Foundation (Development Finance Affinity Group) Improving the Impact of Microfinance on Poverty: An action research project (Imp-Act). Collaborative action-research into institutionalising systems of impact monitoring and assessment in 40 microfinance institutions across Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. £250,000 (approx) in four grants to Bath, out of a total project budget of $3 million. [With James Copestake and Susan Johnson, Department of International Development, University of Bath].

1998-2001: ESRC PhD Studentship [Institute of Latin American Studies, University of Liverpool].

Publications

Journal Articles

Wright K ( 2011) Constructing migrant wellbeing: An exploration of life satisfaction amongst Peruvian migrants in London. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 37(9): 1459-1475.

Wright K (2011) Constructing human wellbeing across spatial boundaries: Negotiating meanings in transnational migration. Global Networks.(First published online 31st October).

Wright K, Black R. (2011) Poverty, migration and human well-being: Towards a post-crisis research and policy agenda. Journal of International Development, 23(4): 484-554.

Wright K, Black R. (2011) International migration and the downturn: Assessing the impacts of the global financial downturn on migration, poverty and human well-being. Journal of International Development, 23(4): 555-564.

Wright K (2010) ‘“It’s a limited kind of happiness,” Barriers to achieving human well-being among Peruvian migrants in London and Madrid’, Bulletin of Latin American Research, 29(3): 367-383.

Wright K (2009) Wellbeing, poverty and social policy. Global Social Policy 9(1): 135-140.

Wright K (2009) Redefining development for national security: Implications for civil society. Development in Practice 19(6):793-798.

Wright K (2009) Redefining development for national security: Implications for civil society. Development in Practice 19(6):793-798.

Wright K, James, R., and Katundu, B. (2007) Assessing the organisational costs of HIV/AIDS on NGOs in Malawi: Results from a pilot study. Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health 12(10):1172–1179.

Wright K, Copestake, J., Dawson, P., Fanning, J., McKay, A. (2005) Monitoring the diversity of the poverty outreach and impact of microfinance: A comparison of methods using data from Peru. Development Policy Review 23(6):703-723.

Wright K (2005) El lado más oscuro de las microfinanzas: Evidencia de Cajamarca, Perú. Debate Agrario 38:91-108.

Wright K, Altamirano, T., Copestake, J., and Figueroa, A. (2004) Conceptualising the links between poverty, inequality and well-being in Peru. Global Social Policy 4(3):313-336.

Wright K, Copestake, J. (2004) Impact assessment of microfinance using qualitative data: Communicating between social scientists and practitioners using the QUIP. Journal of International Development 16(3):355-367.

Wright K (2003) “Problems? What problems? We have none at all”. Qualitative data collection for impact assessment: Getting the questions right. Journal of Microfinance 5(1):115-138.

Wright K, Cohen, M. (2003) How can microfinance organisations become more client-led? Lessons from Latin America. IDS Bulletin 34(4):94-105.

Books

Wright, K. International Migration, Development and Human Wellbeing (Palgrave MacMillan, 2012).

Wright K, Brody, A., Greeley, M. (eds.) (2005) Money with a Mission: Managing the Social Performance of Microfinance Vol 2. ITDG: Rugby, UK.

Contributions to Books

Wright, K (2011) ‘Conceptualising human wellbeing from a gender and life course perspective: The case of Peruvian migrants in London,’ in McIlwaine, C. (ed.) Latin American Migration Across Borders: European Perspectives from the UK and Beyond. Palgrave Macmillan: London.

Wright K (2005) ‘The darker side to microfinance: Evidence from Cajamarca, Peru’, in Microfinance: Perils and Prospects by Fernando, J. (ed.) Routledge: New York, USA.

Wright K, Copestake, J., Johnson, S. (2003) ‘Impact assessment of microfinance: Towards a new protocol for collection and analysis of qualitative data’, in Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods for Development Research by Holland, J. with Campbell, J. (eds) ITDG: Rugby, UK.

Working Papers

Wright K (2007) “You are not going there to amuse yourself,” Barriers to achieving wellbeing through international migration: The case of Peruvian migrants in London and Madrid. WeD Working Paper 33. Wellbeing in Developing Countries ESRC Research Group. University of Bath: Bath, UK.

Wright K, Altamirano, T., Copestake, J., Figueroa, A (2004) Poverty studies in Peru; Towards a more inclusive study of social exclusion. WeD Working Paper 5. Wellbeing in Developing Countries ESRC Research Group, University of Bath: Bath, UK.

Wright K (2004) Assessing the social performance of microfinance using the QUIP: Findings from Huancayo, Chimbote and Cajamarca, Peru. Imp-Act Working Paper 10. IDS: Brighton, UK.

Wright K (2003) QUIP: A Qualitative Impact Assessment Protocol for Microfinance organisations. Imp-Act Working Paper 7. IDS: Brighton, UK.

Policy Briefing Papers and Practice Notes

Wright K (2007) Diverse state-society relations: Implications of implementing the Paris declaration. INTRAC Briefing Paper 12. INTRAC: Oxford, UK.

Wright K (2007) Redefining development for national security: Implications for NGOs and CSOs. Overview report on CTM workshops. INTRAC: Oxford, UK.

Wright K (2007) HIV/AIDS Policy: How to readdress the balance between global provision and local civil society? INTRAC Briefing Paper 13. INTRAC: Oxford, UK.

Wright K (2006) Supporting the capacity of organisations at community-level: An exploration of issues, methods and principles for good practice. INTRAC Ocasional Paper 48. INTRAC: Oxford, UK.

Wright K (2005) Boletín Informativo Grupo Regional LatinoAmericano Imp-Act: Mejorando el impacto para mitigar la pobreza. FINRURAL: La Paz, Bolivia.

Wright K, Copestake, J. (2004) QUIP: Understanding clients through in-depth interviews. Imp-Act Practice Note 2. IDS: Brighton, UK.

Wright K, Copestake, J. (2003) PROMUC (PERU): Review of progress towards a system for impact monitoring and assessment, University of Bath: Bath, UK.

Wright K, Cohen M, (2003) The Feedback Loop: Responding to Client Needs. Imp-Act Practice Note 1. IDS: Brighton, UK

Reviews of Single Academic Books

I have had 5 book reviews published in International Development Planning Review, Bulletin of Latin American Research and Small Enterprise Development Journal. I regularly review articles for the following journals: Journal of International Development, Gender, Place and Culture, Geoforum, Development and Practice, European Journal of Development Research and Emotions, Society and Space