Michael M. Cernea (born 1931) is an American-Romanian social scientist who introduced sociological and anthropological approaches into the World Bank. He worked as the World Banks Senior Adviser for Sociology and Social Policy until 1997. He has published on a wide range of the effects of development, including social change, social forestry, participation, grassroots organizations, and population resettlement. He is an author of the term "development-induced displacement and resettlement"
Freidenberg reports Cernea as arguing that "Development Anthropology is a Contact Sport".
Academia Română (elected 1991 as Member Correspondent; elected to full membership in Academia Romana in October 2012)
Solon T. Kimball Award (1988) for Public Policy and Applied Anthropology - American Anthropological Association
Bronislaw Malinowski Award (1995) - Society for Applied Anthropology in recognition of scholarly efforts to understand and serve the needs of the world through social science.
(1985, 1991) Putting People First: Sociological Variables in Development
(1993) Anthropological Approaches to Resettlement: Policy, Practice, Theory (ed. w. Scott Guggenheim)
(1996) Social Organization and Development Anthropology
(1997) Social Assessment for Better Development (ed. w. Ayse Kudat)
(1996–1998) Resettlement and Development (published in China, vol. I and II)
(1999) The Economics of Involuntary Resettlement: Questions and Challenges
(2001) Cultural Heritage and Development: A Framework for Action in the Middle East and North Africa
(2008) Can Compensation Prevent Impoverishment? Reforming Resettlement through Investments and Benefit-Sharing (ed. w. H. M. Mathur)
