NEW ALBANY, IN (Feb. 1, 2011) – An expert on economic policy and world conflicts will visit Indiana University Southeast this week to shed light on the cost of piracy off the coast of Somalia.

Raymond Gilpin, of the United States Institute of Peace, will present “Addressing the Costs and Concerns of Somali Piracy” at 12:20 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 3, in University Center 127 at IU Southeast.

Gilpin directs the economics and conflict center at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., where he leads the Institute’s work on analyzing relationships among economic factors during all stages of conflict.

He also teaches the economics and conflict course at the U.S. Institute of Peace Academy and manages the International Network for Economics and Conflict. Before joining the USIP, he served as academic chair for defense economics at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, director for International Programs at Intellibridge Corporation (now part of Eurasia Group), senior economist at the African Development Bank Group,  research director at the Central Bank of Sierra Leone, and an economist at the World Bank. 

Gilpin’s publications include “Counting the Costs of Somali Piracy.” He holds a doctorate from Cambridge University in Economics and an executive certificate in international finance and capital markets from Georgetown University.

His presentation is sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and Southern Indiana and IU Southeast.  It is free and open to the public.