My name is Connor and I am an economics concentrator at Harvard, currently in my sophomore year. I have been involved extensively in Model United Nations since my freshman year of high school, attending HMUN, Berkeley MUN, and McGill MUN. In addition, during the summer before my senior year in high school, I interned at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, working in the Department of Public Information. I am originally from western Canada and I am a former competitive ski racer and tennis player, and love the Rocky Mountains. I look forward to meeting all of you at HMUN 2012!

Corruption is an issue that affects every nation and has wide-reaching implications not only for economic growth but also for political and social development. The goal of the Economic and Financial Committee will be to propose systematic and far reaching changes in the way countries deal with corrupt practices domestically, as well as how they interact (or allow their businesses to interact) with corrupt governments. Of the many issues that need to be addressed are the possible tradeoff between international competitiveness and a wish to operate fully corruption free, as well as the so-called “culture” of corruption in certain nations’ business arenas. In particular, this committee will focus on developing countries, where corruption not only affects economic wellbeing, but can be linked to human rights abuses as well. Ultimately, a balance between regulation and free-enterprise will be paramount within this discussion, and hopefully with the correct balance this committee will be able to promote lasting economic development in formerly corrupt developing nations.

Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to those in poverty designed to spur entrepreneurship. These individuals lack collateral, steady employment and a verifiable credit history and therefore cannot meet even the most minimal qualifications to gain access to traditional credit. Due to the success of microcredit, many in the traditional banking industry have begun to realize that these microcredit borrowers should more correctly be categorized as pre-bankable; thus, microcredit is increasingly gaining credibility in the mainstream finance industry, and many traditional large finance organizations are contemplating microcredit projects as a source of future growth, even though almost everyone in larger development organizations discounted the likelihood of success of microcredit when it was begun. Therefore, this committee, while focusing on micro-credit loans in developing countries, could have farther reaching implications on developed nations. In turn, this committee will seek specific solutions to fostering increased micro-credit lending, based on the extent to which the committee feels such an increase is appropriate.