Sally Merrill
Senior Associate
The Urban Institute

Sally Merrill, a Senior Associate at the Urban Institute, is an economist specializing in housing finance and housing market policy. She has over 25 years experience in domestic and international policy development.

Dr. Merrill has extensive experience in Central and Easter Europe, beginning in 1991 in Poland. She managed USAID's Poland Housing Finance Program, a comprehensive development project that took place from 1996 - 2000. She is currently managing a housing finance project focused on the countries of Southeast Europe, including a regional Conference held in Sofia in February 2003. Ms. Merrill has also managed housing and housing finance projects in Romania, Slovakia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Bulgaria. In Kazakhstan, Ms. Merrill is currently addressing development of a market-based housing finance sector, including establishment of mortgage default insurance.

Ms. Merrill has also worked in Asia (Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Philippines), in Africa (South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Algeria and Egypt), and in Jamaica. She is currently project director for a two year program of housing market and housing finance assistance in South Africa, supported by USAID, which has a resident director and staff, and is responding to requests for assistance in housing finance and housing policy from a large and diverse group of government, NGO, banks, and other private groups.

Ms. Merrill has numerous recent publications on housing and housing finance. She recently served as guest editor for the March 2001 edition of Housing Finance International.