About Laurent Parrot

I am an economist at CIRAD, the French agricultural research and cooperation organization working for the sustainable development of tropical and Mediterranean regions. I am also affiliated with the University of Montpellier and Centre for study of Globalisation, Conflicts, Territories and Vulnerabilities (CEMOTEV) at the University of Paris-Saclay. I am currently positioned in Martinique in the French West Indies. My current research focuses on how behavioral and cognitive sciences in medicine can apply to economic performance. This has led to what I have named as the Alliance Approach to economics. It influenced my view of the economic agent, i.e.; the person, his household, the firm, and the government. A person-centered development ethic can contribute to reflections on the ends and means of economics. The Alliance Approach is a professional person-centered approach based on the medical practice of the therapeutic alliance (or working alliance). It relies on technical skills and the recognition of the status of the person based on four principles: recognition, empathy, authenticity, and human warmth. The application of these four principles reconciles and renews the way I look at economics, fieldwork, and development ethics.