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Fernando R. Fernholz

Professor of the Practice Emeritus in the Sanford School of Public Policy
Sanford School of Public Policy
Box 90237, Durham, NC 27708-0237
280 Rubenstein Hall, Box 90237, Durham, NC 27708

Overview


Fernando R. Fernholz is Director of the Program on Project Appraisal and Risk Management (PARM) at DCID and is a Professor of the Practice at Duke University where he teaches Economic Development, Policies for Development and Public Finance Courses. He has been faculty of the PARM program since 1985. He has lectured on public debt, finance, balance of payments, macroeconomic issues in courses and workshops in various countries in different regions and agencies like the World Bank. He was a Development Associate working with the Public Finance Group of HIID and was resident advisor in different countries in Asia and Africa. He has done short-term advisory work in countries such as Russia, India, Panama, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Uganda, Namibia, and Mozambique. He recently co-authored two studies: expansionary public investment impacts during the financial crisis. He co-authored 2 studies on the economic opportunity cost of capital for Mexico in 2014 and 2017. He also evaluated the economic and financial feasibility of the New International Airport in Sierra Leone in 2018. He was principal investigator for a Comparative Cost Efficiency Analysis of USAID Food for Peace Programs and a 2 year study of cost effectiveness of nutrition interventions in Mozambique. He led a study with recommendations for methodologies for public investment in relation to climate change impacts, with the World Bak from 2017 to 2020. Dr. Fernholz headed his own consulting, construction and data processing companies for many years in Bolivia. His education includes a Master of Civil Engineering from the RWTH Aachen in Germany, Master of Public Administration at the Kennedy School of Government and a Ph.D. in Economics from Boston University.

Current Appointments & Affiliations


Professor of the Practice Emeritus in the Sanford School of Public Policy · 2022 - Present Sanford School of Public Policy
Affiliate of the Center for Biobehavioral Health Disparities Research · 2014 - Present Center on Health & Society, Social Science Research Institute
Affiliate of the Duke Center for International Development · 2023 - Present Duke Center for International Development, Sanford School of Public Policy

Recent Publications


Chapter 24, (MulticriteriaAnalysis).

Chapter · June 2011 Featured Publication Multi-criteria Analysis for Decision Making (MCA) THE CONCEPT OF MCA MCA is neither new nor mysterious. Intuitively or formally, individuals use this kind of analysis, for example, when they buy an automobile and simultaneously consider and weigh the facto ... Cite

Enhancing the Government of Jamaica’s System for Prioritizing Public Investment Projects

Journal Article · January 2009 Featured Publication The report reviews the current system used to present and select project proposals within the government institutional framework. It recommends the adoption of a clear set of standards, methodologies and processes to be applied in a transparent sequence to ... Cite
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Recent Grants


Leadership in Public Financial Management II (LPFM II)

Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Nathan Associates, Inc. · 2015 - 2018

Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges Study Tour

Public ServicePrincipal Investigator · Awarded by Management & Training International Ltd. · 2018 - 2018

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Education, Training & Certifications


Boston University · 2000 Ph.D.
Harvard University · 1985 M.P.A.
RWTH Aachen University (Germany) · 1974 M.S.C.E.