Kate Raworth was born on December 13, 1970. She is a British economist who created a model called "doughnut economics," which helps people meet their basic needs while protecting the Earth's limits. She works as a senior associate at Oxford University’s Environmental Change Institute and teaches as a professor at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences.
Family and education
Raworth was born in 1970 to a mother who owned a flower shop and a father who worked in business. She has an older sister named Sophie. She grew up in Twickenham, Middlesex, and attended St Paul's Girls School. She later studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at the University of Oxford, where she was influenced by Andrew Graham. She earned first-class honors in her degree and completed an MSc in Development Economics afterward.
Career
From 1995 to 1998, Raworth worked in Zanzibar to support the growth of small businesses as a fellow at the Overseas Development Institute. Between 1997 and 2001, she served as an economist and co-wrote sections of the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report. These sections covered topics such as globalization, new technologies, resource use, and human rights. From 2002 to 2013, Raworth was a senior researcher at Oxfam. She is now a senior research associate, tutor, and advisory board member at the Environmental Change Institute of the University of Oxford. She also holds positions as a senior associate at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership and a member of the advisory board at the ZOE Institute for Future-fit Economies.
In 2017, Raworth published Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist. This book explains her idea of doughnut economics, which she first introduced in a 2012 paper titled A Safe and Just Space for Humanity. The 2017 book offers a different approach to traditional economic ideas. Raworth supports creating an economy that meets basic human needs, such as food and education, while protecting the environment for future generations. She criticizes the idea that economic growth should have no limits, as this harms the planet and fails to meet human needs. The book was listed for the 2017 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.
In 2020, Raworth became a professor of practice at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. In this role, she advises the Doughnut Hub, where students, teachers, and researchers work with local groups in Amsterdam to develop ideas based on her work.
In 2021, Raworth joined the World Health Organization’s Council on the Economics of Health for All, which is led by Mariana Mazzucato.
Personal life
Raworth lives in Oxford. She is married to Roman Krznaric, who is an Australian philosopher. They met in New York and have two children who are twins. Her sister, Sophie Raworth, works as a journalist and broadcaster for the BBC. Raworth has been given an honorary doctorate by Business School Lausanne.