Howard Jones
BSc, MSc (London), PhD (Reading)
Head of Department
j.h.m.jones@reading.ac.uk

Howard Jones has an academic background in social anthropology and economics. His main teaching and research interests concern rural livelihoods and micro-enterprise finance, with a particular interest in the informal financial sector and problems of financial exclusion from the formal banking sector.

A completed DFID funded research project in Ghana examined the scope for enhancing the role of the informal financial sector for renewable natural resource development. A DFID Social Sciences Research funded project, in collaboration with the School of Psychology, examined attitudinal constraints in the provision of formal financial services for the rural poor in Madhya Pradesh, India. This is being followed by a new DFID (EDIF and Social Sciences) funded project which is leading to the design and evaluation of innovative training modules for rural bank staff in order to enhance capacity building for lending to the poor.

Howard is also carrying out research in the area of livelihood diversification. He co-ordinated an EU funded project preparation visit and workshop in India, which led to a full proposal concerning enterprise development in forest-based livelihood systems in India. In addition, he is contributing a longitudinal study of livelihood diversification in an Indian village as part of an Overseas Development Institute managed research project on Livelihood Diversification, Poverty and Policy Reform in South Asia.

In recent years his research has concentrated in India and Ghana, and he has also conducted research in Jordan and Thailand.

Research Projects

Improved financial services for renewable natural resources development in Ghana

Gender sensitive small and micro enterprise development in forest-based livelihood systems in north, north-east and west India (EU)

Addressing attitudinal constraints in the provision of formal financial services for the poor in Madhya Pradesh, India (DFID: ESCOR)

Sustainable Livelihood Diversification in South Asia (DFID: PRP through ODI)

Towards Ensuring Sustainable Financial Services for the Poor Through Improved Capacity Building (DFID: EDIF and Social Sciences Research