IRIS is a research and advisory center located in the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland, College Park.
We work to understand and facilitate economic growth and democratic development in poor and transition countries,
focusing on the role of institutions — the formal and informal rules by which individuals organize economic, political, and social activity.
In partnership with scholars, international donors, and
reformers, IRIS designs and supports reform efforts, improves the delivery of foreign assistance, and promotes knowledge sharing. IRIS is widely recognized as
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A pre-eminent policy research institute on institutional reform and economic development
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An implementer of innovative reform projects in the field
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A source of strategic thinking and insight on development issues
IRIS was among the first to show that market-augmenting institutions — such
as property rights and contract enforcement — are key to
development and are more secure when they are embedded in democratic
governance structures. Understanding how these institutions evolve
and applying these insights to specific problems forms the work
of IRIS’s home office and field teams. Read
more about IRIS’s history.
IRIS seeks to generate new knowledge and insights through all of our activities. We publish books, articles, working papers, and country reports, and conduct training sessions and briefings at USAID and other development and economic institutions around the world. Some IRIS staff also teach and advise in their academic departments, as faculty members of the University of Maryland.
The IRIS Center is a non-profit organization administered by
University Research Corporation International (URCI), a wholly
owned, non-stock, non-profit corporation created in 1991 to serve
the educational and scientific purposes of the University, specifically
including governance of the IRIS Center. The day-to-day
activities of the IRIS Center are led by Executive Director Dr. Dennis Wood.
URCI is an affiliate of the University of Maryland, authorized by the Board of Regents of the University of Maryland System and governed by a Board of Directors which includes (as Chairman) the President of the University of Maryland, College Park, and (as President) the Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, as well as other members of the faculty.
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