Dr. Lorraine Ruffing

Dr. Lorraine Ruffing
 

Academic Background 

Ph.D. in Trade and Development, Columbia University

MA in Economics, Columbia University

BA in Economics, Catholic University, Washington, DC

Professional Experience   

Positions held United Nations

  • UN Economic Commission for Europe (Geneva) 1981-87
  • UN Centre on Transnational Corporations (New York) 1987-93
  • UN Development Programme (Uzbekistan) 1993-1995
  • UN Conference on Trade and Development (Geneva) 1995-2003

Other International Organizations

  • Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (Paris) 2008-2014
  • Accionen Venezuela (Caracas) 1968-1969

Teaching/Lecturing

  • St. Mary’s University, Halifax, Canada
  • Dine Policy Institute, Tsaile, Arizona
  • University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • Adelphi University, Long Island City, NY
  • Webster University/Occidental College, Geneva
  • University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Government

  • US Senate, American Indian Policy Review Commission, Task Force Seven,
  • Reservation Development and Resource Protection

Technical Cooperation Projects

Accounting reform and retraining in Uzbekistan

  • Accounting reform in Azerbaijan
  • Audit training in Azerbaijan
  • Accounting reform in Russian Federation
  • Women entrepreneurs in ten LDCs
  • Growing SMEs in LDCs
  • Public-private sector dialogue in LDCs
  • EMPRETEC: entrepreneurship development in 31 developing countries
  • Mediterranean 2000: SME development in ten countries

Selected Publication 

  • Annual Review of United Nations Affairs, Commentary on the Economic and Social Council Activities, Oxford University Press, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
  • “Lessons from the UN Centre on Transnational Corporations for the Current Treaty Initiative”, in Building a Treaty on Business and Human Rights, Surya Deva and Daivd Bilchitz eds, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
  • United Nations Centre on Transnational Corporations: Corporate conduct and the public interest with Khalil Hamdani, Rutledge Press, London, 2015.
  • Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs: An OECD Scoreboard, OECD, Paris 2011, 2012, 2013.
  • Entrepreneurship Policy Framework and Implementation Guidance, UNCTAD, Geneva, 2012.
  • Impact of the Global Crisis on SME Entrepreneurship Financing and Policy Responses, OECD, Paris, 2009.
  • Enhancing the role of SMEs in Global Value Chains, UNCTAD, Geneva, 2009.
  • ISAR 25 years of Promoting Financial Transparency, UNCTAD, Geneva, 2009.
  • Enhancing the Role of SMEs in Global Value Chains, OECD, Paris, 2008.
  • Silent vs. Shadow Reporting: What can we learn from BP’s Sustainability Report Vs. the Financial Times, CESAR, 2007.
  • Investment Guide for Uzbekistan, UNDP, Uzbekistan, 1995 and 2007.
  • Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility, course material for Open University Business School, Milton Keynes, UK 2005.
  • Business linkages, foreign direct investment and meeting the millennium goals, Small Enterprise Development Journal, Dec. 2005.

Areas of expertise

  • Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility
  • International accounting: harmonization issues
  • Private sector development: development of small and medium sized enterprises through business linkages
  • Financing of small and medium sized enterprises
  • Twenty years’ experience with economies in transition
  • Seven years’ experience in living and working in developing countries: Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, Uzbekistan

Awards & Achievement 

  • Phi Beta Kappa
  • Who’s who in American Universities
  • World Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs, Special Honor Award