Glenn Yago

Dr. Glenn Yago is a Senior Fellow and former Director of Capital Studies at the Milken Institute, and a leading authority on financial innovations, capital markets, emerging markets, and environmental finance. His work focuses on the innovative use of financial instruments to solve long-standing economic development, social and environmental challenges. His research and projects have contributed to policy innovations fostering the democratization of capital to traditionally underserved markets and entrepreneurs in the U.S. and around the world. He is the author of five books, including The Rise and Fall of the U.S. Mortgage and Credit Markets (2009), Global Edge (2007), Restructuring Regulation and Financial Institutions (2004) and Beyond Junk Bonds (2005). He is also co-editor of The Milken Institute Series on Financial Innovation and Economic Growth. His opinions appear regularly in the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal. Dr. Yago created the Milken Institute’s Capital Access Index, an annual survey measuring access to capital for entrepreneurs across countries, and co-created the Opacity Index, measuring financial risks associated with corruption, legal, enforcement, accounting, and regulatory practices internationally. His research focuses on tracking changes in global capital markets and directing the Institute’s series of Financial Innovation Laboratories to structure economic solutions. The Institute’s Financial Innovations Laboratories are credited with crafting breakthrough financial policies and programs for institutional investors, foundations, development finance and governments and for addressing diverse problems of urban revitalization, catastrophic risk, affordable housing, small business financing, water infrastructure, climate change, health care, and antiquities preservation.

Prior to joining the Milken Institute, Dr. Yago served as Professor at the State University of New York-Stony Brook and City University of New York Graduate Center in the Ph.D. Program in Economics. He is currently visiting Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem where he directs the Koret-Milken Institute Fellows program of postgraduates working on financial reform and economic development.