Dale W Adams, PhD, The Ohio State University

Dale W Adams (no period after the W) grew up on a farm in Utah. His early experience abroad included tours of duty in Japan and Taiwan as a member of the US Air Force, which kindled his interest in international development. His undergraduate degree was awarded by Utah State University. His graduate work was at Michigan State University, which included a year in Colombia. He taught at the University of Wisconsin for three years, studying land reform in Colombia. Other than short posts with USAID and a visiting professorship at Stanford, the balance of his career was at Ohio State University, from which he retired in 1995.

Dale’s early experience, including his farming background, led him to question policies and programs that seemed constructive in Washington but from an economic perspective wasteful and dysfunctional in academia — a twist on the conventional view of the “real world”. As his experience with rural finance grew, he became instrumental in winding down “development assistance” programs that had little economic logic either at home or abroad. In each case, Dale’s concerns focused on how policy and rent-seeking affect common people.

Collaborating with various individuals, organizations and institutions, Dale and his colleagues organized courses, seminars and conferences that gathered momentum in professional circles. These led to sea changes in perceptions about the role of finance in rural areas and at the small end of the market generally. In fact, his work helped to open the doors of microfinance. Dale has visited more than 50 countries in his professional career.