Tony Addison is Chief Economist and Deputy Director of the UNU World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) in Helsinki, Finland. He was previously Professor of Development Studies, University of Manchester; Executive Director of the Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI), University of Manchester (from 2006-2009); Associate Director of the Chronic Poverty Research Centre (CPRC); and Deputy Director of UNU-WIDER.

His books include: From Conflict to Recovery in Africa (Oxford University Press), Making Peace Work: The Challenges of Economic and Social Reconstruction (Palgrave Macmillan), and Poverty Dynamics: A Cross-Disciplinary Perspective (Oxford University Press). He was a lead author for The Chronic Poverty Report 2008-09: Escaping Poverty Traps.