Jenny Yamamoto obtained her BA and MA in International Economics from the University of Sussex in the early 1990s. In 1997 she joined the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP ), located in Bangkok and worked in the areas of environment and international transport for almost ten years. In 2000, she also worked for six months at the World Bank to develop country case studies on the participatory processes surrounding the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers. Her research interests include participatory processes in developing and implementing public policies, the economic linkages between global and local economies, and the role of the United Nations in promoting international cooperation. She has been on leave from the UN since 2006 and is now living in London.